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Global pulp production on the rise in Q3/2016: WRG

Dec. 19, 2016 – Global production of market pulp continues to go up and was 3.5 per cent higher during the first eight months of this year than it was during the same period in 2015, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly.

Softwood pulp prices have remained steady during most of 2016 in both Europe and North America, reports WRQ, adding that hardwood pulp prices have trended downward from late 2015 to October 2016.

The Hardwood Wood Fiber Price Index has rebounded by 5.6 per cent from the 1Q/2016 when it reached an 11-year low. The biggest price increases this year have been in Brazil, Indonesia, Australia and Chile where prices have gone up despite the strengthening of the local currencies.

Softwood chip and pulplog prices fell in the local currencies in most of Europe and North America which, together with a stronger U.S. dollar against the Canadian dollar and the Euro, resulted in a decline of the Softwood Wood Fiber Price Index in the third quarter of 2016.

Global sawlogs prices fell again in the 3Q/2016 after a temporary increase in the 2Q/2016, following an almost two year-long downward trend. The Global Sawlog Price Index (GSPI) has fallen by 14.3 per cent in two years and currently is almost 12 per cent below the 10-year average.

Meanwhile, pellet imports to South Korea has increased rapidly and the country was the second largest importer of pellets in Q3/2016.

— With files from Wood Resource Quarterly