Italian P&B Production Sinks by 4.1 percent in 2020; Tissue Production Rises

Italian paper and board (P&B) production dropped by 4.1 percent year on year to 8.5 million mtpy in 2020 according to data from the Italian association of pulp, paper and board producers Assocarta. During the year, imports and exports fell by 7.8 percent and 5.1 percent year on year respectively, while apparent consumption decreased by 5.6 percent to 9.8 million mtpy.

Within the graphic paper segment, newsprint demand plummeted by 21.4 percent on a year-on-year basis to 376,945 mtpy while demand for uncoated and coated papers sank by 10.7 percent and 18.7 percent, respectively. Coated mechanical reel (CMR) production plummeted by 43.4 percent year on year to 446,358 mtpy, while uncoated woodfree production slid by 10.2 percent to 468,002 mtpy and coated woodfree production dropped by 20.5 percent to 753,043 mtpy. On the export side, CMR exports plummeted by 46.1 percent on a year-on-year basis to 357,110 mtpy.

Tissue paper production, on the other hand, rose by 2.9 percent year on year to 1.6 million mtpy, according to Assocarta. While tissue paper imports dropped by 55.6 percent year on year to 44,630 mtpy, exports rose by 11.5 percent to 886,803 mtpy and apparent consumption contracted by 11.6 percent to 774,027 mtpy.

On the packaging side, containerboard production improved by 11.6 percent year on year to 2.7 million mtpy. While imports dropped by 5.7 percent year on year to 1.9 million mtpy and apparent consumption was fairly stable at 4.3 million mtpy, exports more than doubled, shooting up 157.3 percent to 321,750 mtpy.

In terms of raw materials, pulp production plummeted by 44.0 percent on a year-on-year basis to 181,657 mtpy while apparent consumption fell by 10.6 percent to 3.2 million mtpy. Imports dropped by 8.1 percent on a year-on-year basis to 3.0 million mtpy during 2020, while exports dived by 33.0 percent to 76,101 mtpy. Paper for recycling apparent collection improved by 3.0 percent year on year to 6.8 million mtpy in 2020, with imports falling by 21.8 percent to 247,085 mtpy, exports slipping by 1.1 percent to 1.8 million mtpy and apparent consumption increasing by 2.9 percent year on year to 5.2 million mtpy.

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