The Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI), Brussels, Belgium, has published its preliminary statistics for 2016. A summary of the main findings are below, and the publication with expanded data is available online.   

• Paper and board production decreased by 0.1% in 2016 compared with the previous year. Total production in 2016 was around 91 million metric tons.
• Early estimates indicate that world paper and board production will be up by 0.8% in 2016 to reach 410 million metric tons.
• The production of packaging grades is estimated to have increased by around 2.3% compared with 2015. Within the packaging grades, case materials—mainly used for transport packaging and corrugated boxes—recorded an increase in production of 2.2%
• Sanitary and household manufacturers are estimated to have seen an increase in output of about 1.8% compared with 2015 and accounted for 8.1% of total production.
• Weak printing and publishing activities continue to have an impact on the overall production of graphic grades, which fell by around 3.7%. Output of newsprint—used mainly for daily newspapers—is expected to fall around 6.4%.
• Preliminary indications are that imports of paper and board into Europe have increased by around 6% compared with 2015.
• The overall consumption of paper and board in CEPI countries in 2016 increased by 1% compared to 2015.
• It is estimated that the production of pulp (integrated + market) has increased by 0.7% compared with the previous year, with total output of approximately 35.6 million metric ton.
• The use of paper for recycling has fallen by around 0.3% when compared with 2015.

The finalized version of CEPI statistics (Key Statistics 2016) will be available on CEPI’s site in July of this year.