New Report Examines Key Trends in Global Pulp Market
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According to a recent Transparency Market Research (Albany, N.Y, USA) report, the presence of many vendors in the global market for pulp can be attributed to the market's extremely competitive nature. The market vendors are concentrating on enhancement of their production efficiencies, and entering into long-term contracts with the end-users.
Additionally, competition regarding prices of products usually prevails between vendors who are increasing their production capabilities and offering products at competitive prices. Key players that are driving expansion of the global pulp market include International Paper, Stora Enso, UPM-Kymmene, Oji Paper, Nippon Paper Group, Packaging Corp. of America, WestRock, Mitsubishi Paper Mills, Shandong Sun Paper Industry, and Rayonier Advanced Materials.
According to the report, the global market for pulp will increase at a moderate CAGR between the forecast period 2017 and 2026. Revenues from worldwide sales of pulp are estimated to exceed $60,000 million by 2026-end.
Robust adoption of tissue paper is expected to prevail as one of the primary factors driving expansion of the global pulp market. Global tissue paper production grew rapidly in the recent past on the back of escalating demand from emerging countries. The residential sector creates huge demand for various types of tissue papers, which include bathroom tissue papers, facial tissue papers, and paper towels. An essential product for maintaining hygiene, tissue paper is likely to witness proliferation in adoption over the upcoming years, thereby creating high demand for pulp.
Pulp is widely employed for the production of primary and secondary packaging solutions, which can primarily be attributed to its cost-effectiveness and high protective cushioning properties. Facilitated reprocessing of pulp along with its biodegradability further creates enormous opportunities for utilization of pulp in packaging solutions.
As pulp packaging is emerging as one of the effective "green" packaging solutions, companies focusing on projecting an eco-friendly brand image are increasingly adopting pulp packaging products. Demand for pulp packaging will remain robust among a wide range of end-use industries. On the other hand, few challenges are likely to hinder adoption of pulp packaging, such as compliance with requirements appertaining to drugs and food products, and lack of infrastructure required for sorting & collecting.
Key research findings from TMR's report include:
- Corrugating materials are anticipated to remain the largest application of pulp, with sales forecast to exceed $20,000 million in revenues by 2026-end. Printing and writing papers and carton board are also expected to remain remunerative applications of pulp.
- Revenues from application of pulp in carton board and kraft paper are expected to witness a parallel rise through 2026. In addition, revenues from printing and writing and tissue applications of pulp are expected to record the highest CAGR through 2026.
- Chemical pulp among grade type segments is expected to remain sought-after in the market, with revenues projected to hold approximately three-fifth share of the market during the forecast period. Although revenues from non-wood pulp are estimated to remain sluggish, sales of non-wood pulp are projected to witness the fastest expansion through 2026.
- On the basis of raw material type, bleached eucalyptus kraft (BEK) pulp and northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) are likely to remain dominant in the global pulp market, in terms of revenues. However, fluff will continue to lead the market in terms of sales expansion, followed by BEK pulp.
Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) will continue to latch onto its dominant position in the global pulp market, with sales poised to account for nearly half share of the market by 2026-end. Europe is also expected to account for a large chunk of the market's revenue share and prevail as the second most lucrative market for pulp.
