PRELIMINARY
STATISTICS
2023
European pulp & paper industry
Cepi Preliminary Statistics 2023
1
Cepi members are associations based in the following European countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United
Kingdom.
Consumption and production of paper and board in Europe followed a downward
course, hit by the adverse macro-economic trends and a long-lasting movement of
destocking.
In Cepi member countries
1
, paper and board
production decreased by 12.8% in 2023 compared
to the previous year, according to preliminary
figures, reflecting adverse macro-economic trends,
long-lasting destocking along the supply chain
throughout the year and the heavy impact on the
industry of high energy and manufacturing costs.
Total production in 2023 reached 74.3 million
tonnes, with a decrease reported in all paper and
board grades.
A decrease in production was observed in most
global regions, but to a lesser extent than in
Europe. Canada, Japan, the United States and
South Korea recorded paper production falls
ranging between 2.0% and 9.8%.
Quarterly production of paper and board
in Cepi countries
In terms of individual paper grades, the structural
divergence in the production trends for graphic
grades and packaging as well as sanitary and
household grades continued in 2023.
Production of paper and board
in Cepi countries
The utilisation of paper for recycling by companies
in the geographic area covered by Cepi members
decreased by 6.9% compared to 2022.
This is to put in relation with a decrease in
packaging paper and board production, as
European production is relying mainly on recycled
feedstock. Another factor is the closure of certain
graphic paper mills using paper for recycling.
Utilisation of paper for recycling
in Cepi countries
Amongst these negative trends, European market
pulp production grew by 4.8% in 2023, driven by
dynamic exports to China.
Production of market pulp in Cepi countries
The depressed economic environment, with high
inflation and interest rates and depressed private
consumption, has heavily impacted demand.
Apparent consumption of paper and board,
measured by Cepi statistics, has decreased by
15.3%. This decline would be less pronounced if
the consumption of stocks had been considered.
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
1991 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2023
Million tonnes
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
1991 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2023
Million tonnes
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
1991 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2023
Million tonnes
Total Paper & Board Total Graphic Papers
Total Packaging Paper & Board Sanitary and Household
Other Paper & Board
Cepi Preliminary Statistics 2023
The EU economy has grown by 0.6% in 2023
according to the latest estimates and is now
forecast to grow by 1.2% in 2024. This places the
EU among the least dynamic regions in the world.
Overall apparent paper and board consumption
decreased by 15.3%.
The overall consumption of paper and board in
Cepi countries in 2023 decreased by 15.3%
compared to 2022, based on figures available for
the first 9 months of the past year. It has been hit
more severely than at any time during the Covid-19
pandemic, as private consumption expenditure was
impacted by high interest and inflation rates.
As in 2022, sanitary and household paper was the
most resilient segment, carried by the strength of
the ‘at-home’ sub-segment, including products
such as tissues or toilet paper, while the ‘away-
from-home’ sub-segment suffered from less
dynamic markets. Sanitary and household
consumption decreased only by 3.7%.
Demand for graphic paper remained negatively
impacted in 2023 (-27.5%), because of the
declining demand observed in printing and
publishing, compounded with the effect of
destocking, which amounts to a significant share of
the decrease. Packaging paper and board demand
decreased by 12.2%.
Decrease in production of all paper and board
grades
The production of packaging grades is estimated to
have decreased by 9.1% compared to 2022. Within
packaging grades, containerboard – mainly used
for transport packaging and corrugated boxes
recorded a decrease of 4.7%. The output of carton
board plus and other packaging board mainly used
for retail packaging decreased by 17.3%. The
production of wrapping grades – used for paper bag
production – decreased by 15.9%.
The share of packaging grades accounted for
62.3% (60.1% in 2022) of the total paper and board
production, with graphic grades accounting for
22.6% (25.9% in 2022). Output of all other grades
of paper and board – mainly for industrial and
special purposes – decreased by 12.2%, with a
share of 4.8% of total paper and board production.
Sanitary and household paper manufacturers’
output decreased by about 4.4% compared to 2022
and accounted for 10.3% of total paper and board
production.
The overall production of graphic grades fell by
24.6%. Newsprint decreased by 19.9% whilst
printing and writing papers decreased by 25.4%, as
a result of machine closures and conversions.
The production of printing and writing papers –
used for magazines and catalogues, direct mail,
directories, etc. – decreased at different rates
depending on precise grade categories. Output of
coated mechanical paper and uncoated
mechanical paper decreased by 24.4% and 23.4%
respectively. Uncoated woodfree grades - copy
paper - have decreased by 23.9%, and coated
woodfree grades were the most impacted with a
decrease of 31.2%.
Overall, this means that production of coated and
uncoated graphic papers decreased by 27.9% and
23.7% respectively. Production of woodfree
graphics showed a decrease of 26.4%, while output
of mechanical graphic papers fell by 23.9%.
Production of paper and board by grade
in Cepi countries in 2023
Paper and board deliveries by Cepi countries
decreased by 15.4%, with exports falling by 15.7%
Based on cumulative data from the first nine
months of 2023, it is expected that total paper and
board deliveries for the year decreased by 15.4%
compared to 2022, and exports outside Cepi by
15.7%. This reflects last year’s paper production
decline in Europe and the global slowdown in
economic growth. By the end of September 2023,
deliveries of graphic grades had decreased by
27.3% whilst deliveries of packaging grades
decreased by 11.9%.
Newsprint
3.7%
Uncoated
Papers
11.6%
Coated
Papers
7.3%
Sanitary
and
Household
10.3%
Case
Materials
41.6%
Wrappings
5.1%
Other
Packaging
Papers
15.6%
Other
Paper &
Board
4.8%
Cepi Preliminary Statistics 2023
Exports decreased by 15.7% by the end of
September 2023, recording a huge decline in
almost all regions: European neighbouring
countries -18.2%, North America -30%, Latin
America -33.8% and other countries of the world -
11.8%. Exports to Asia went up by 5.2%, with a
29.6% increase recorded for China.
In terms of market share, other European countries
remain the main markets for exports with 36.9% of
total European exports; Asia accounts for 25.3%,
North America 12.5%, Latin America 7.7% and all
other countries 17.5%.
Exports of paper and board by region in 2023
Preliminary indicators show that imports of paper
and board into Cepi member countries decreased
by around 14.0% compared to 2022, with
decreasing volumes coming from other European
countries (-29.3%). Other European countries, not
represented in Cepi’s membership, account for
38.9% of all European imports, North America
28.2%, Asia 21.6%, Latin America 6.1% and the
rest of the world 5.3%.
As a result, the trade balance of paper and board
has decreased by 16.4% compared to 2022 but
remains largely positive.
Total pulp production decrease by 6.2% while
market pulp production increased by 4.8%
The production of pulp (integrated + market) has
decreased by 6.2% compared to the previous year,
with a total output of approximately 33.5 million
tonnes Output of mechanical pulp decreased by
12.2%, whilst production of chemical pulp fell by
4.5% compared to 2022. Chemical pulp accounts
for 79% of total pulp production. Output of market
pulp showed an increase of 4.8%.
DISCLAIMER
Cepi statistics are collected on a regular basis from our members, the National Associations.
The compliance of our statistics reports with EU competition laws is periodically checked by licensed
experts. Furthermore, Cepi has commissioned Deloitte to issue each year a limited assurance statement
on its data quality.
Sustainability statistics will be reported on in another report, to be published in 2024.
Two annual reports are available on Cepi’s website:
https://www.cepi.org/statistics/
- Preliminary Statistics 2023 - February 2024
- Key Statistics 2023 – will be made available in July 2024
Statistics subscriptions
More detailed Cepi statistics are available to those who subscribe:
https://www.cepi.org/statistics-order-form/
For more information on Cepi statistics:
Ariane Crèvecoeur, Statistics Manager – a[email protected]
Other
Europe
36.9%
Asia
25.3%
North
America
12.5%
Latin
America
7.7%
Rest of the
World
17.5%