Paper industry and misunderstandings

According to the latest statistics from the General Department of Customs, the export of paper and paper products in July 2022 reached 173,633 million USD, up 5% over the previous month; accumulated in the first 7 months of 2022 reached 1.134 billion USD, up 21.6% over the same period last year.

In the first 7 months of 2022, the export of paper and paper products reached US$1,134 billion, up 21.6% over the same period last year.

 

1. Strong growth in the top 5 big markets

The top 5 export markets of paper and paper products in the first 7 months of this year of Vietnam (including the United States, China, Cambodia, Taiwan and Indonesia) all grew very well, over 30%. In which, the US market had the lowest export growth of 31.18%.

In July 2022, the export of paper and paper-based products of Vietnamese enterprises to the No. 1 market in the United States reached 55.80 million USD, up 34.68% compared to July 2021; cumulative 7 months is 297.427 million USD, up 31.18% over the same period in 2021.

The Chinese market ranked second with export turnover of paper and paper products in July 2022, reaching US$21,516 million, up 20.16% compared to July 2021; cumulative 7 months reached 145.149 million USD, up 16.29% over the same period in 2021.

The third is the Cambodian market with the export value of paper and paper products in July 2022 reaching US$16.194 million, up 27.91% compared to July 2021; accumulated in 7 months reached 113.934 million USD, up 38.8% over the same period last year.

Fourth is the Taiwan market. In July, the export of paper and paper products reached USD 11,523 million, up 51.81% compared to July 2021; accumulated 7 months reached 83,533 million USD, up 47.34% over the same period last year.

And fifth is the Indonesian market, the export value of paper and paper products in July reached $9,409 million, up 50.88% compared to July 2021; accumulated 7 months reached 73,064 million USD, up 34.92% over the same period last year.

Mr. Hoang Trung Son - Vice Chairman of the Pulp and Paper Association said that Vietnam has changed from a country that imports paper for consumption to a country that can export all kinds of paper, especially packaging. In the 5-year period from 2015 to 2020, the export of the paper industry has increased by an average of over 65%/year.

Particularly in 2021, the average output of the paper industry will reach over 25%/year, the demand for consumer paper will increase by over 12%/year, and imports will also increase by an average of 3%/year.

 

2. Moving on to a new stage

According to the Association's forecast, in the period of 2021-2025, Vietnam's paper industry will continue to maintain a high growth momentum and make a breakthrough with the main products being packaging paper and tissue paper.

“Although the economy has been facing many difficulties over the past 10 years, and geopolitical fluctuations, especially the Russia-Ukraine war and the COVID-19 pandemic, have disrupted the supply chain, causing inflation to fall. If the rate increases, the world economy will go into a recession, but Vietnam's economy still tends to develop well, including the paper industry," said Vice Chairman of the Pulp and Paper Association.

Specifically, the strongest growth period of the industry is in 2020, by 2021, there will be many paper mills producing large capacity from 100,000 tons to 150,000 tons/year, having installed and increased the total new capacity up to 2 million tons/year.

As expected by the Association, by the end of 2023, there will be more paper factories with more than 1 million tons of new capacity put into operation, with Cell machines with a capacity of up to 300,000 tons to 450,000 tons/year/a necklace. Thereby, it shows that Vietnam's paper industry is transitioning to a very large development stage.

However, the biggest problem that the paper industry is facing is the perception that paper is a major environmental polluting industry, which insiders consider it to be the "unfairness" that the industry has suffered for a long time.

“For the pollution problem of the paper industry, we would like to share, the raw materials of the paper industry are organic substances, and the cellulose fibers used in the paper industry are also basic chemicals, without elements like heavy metals or substances that have the potential to cause great pollution to the environment.

Obviously, in the history of the development of the paper industry in the world, we have never seen a big scandal about environmental issues for the industry, and it was caused by the paper industry itself. That's why the world is recommending that people switch to more paper, especially for paper packaging.

Recycled paper

In Vietnam, paper is an industry that is naturally suitable for the circular economy, because the main raw material of the industry is a source of renewable materials from planted forests.

Second, with paper products that are collected and recycled a lot, for developed countries the normal collection rate is over 70%, and in a few countries like Japan, the recycling rate is up to 82 % - 83%.

Therefore, thinking that paper is an industry that causes environmental pollution is "Thi Kinh's injustice" that we have had to endure for a long time", said Vice Chairman of the Pulp and Paper Association.

(Source: nhipsongkinhdoanh.vn)