Market observation: paper prices rise, packaging industry profits "shrink"
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January 20 13:07:28, 2023
"The price of paper is rising, and procurement is basically relying on grabbing." Recently, the rise in paper prices has drawn the attention of the industry.
Xiaoxian Linping Paper Co., Ltd. mainly produces industrial packaging paper such as corrugated paper and cardboard paper, with an annual production capacity of 450,000 tons. “In recent months, paper prices have continued to rise. Taking corrugated paper as an example, the ex-factory price at the beginning of the year was 2,700-2,800 yuan/ton, and it has now risen to 3,800-4,000 yuan/ton,†said Li Jian, head of the company.
The rise in paper prices is inseparable from the rise in raw material prices. "The purchase price of waste paperboard at the beginning of the year was only 8,000 yuan a ton, and now it has risen to about 2,300 yuan a ton." Li Jianshe said that the competition for raw materials between paper companies is extremely fierce, and often there is no money to collect waste paper. Under normal circumstances, the company's inventory of waste paper can meet the production needs of 20 days, and now the inventory can only be used for 3 days, if it is even rainy, the supply of raw materials is more tense.
Hefei Hongtu Color Printing Co., Ltd. is one of the few papermaking enterprises in Hefei, mainly producing corrugated paper. Lu Youlong, the company's principal, said that since September last year, paper prices have continued to rise, and the price of corrugated paper has risen from 2,800 yuan / ton to the current 4,000 yuan / ton. With the Mid-Autumn Festival and the "Double Eleven" coming, the packaging paper industry will once again enter the peak season of consumption, and paper prices will continue to be bullish.
It is understood that in recent days, many paper-making enterprises across the country have raised prices again, and many carton factories have also frequently adjusted their prices. The price adjustment range ranges from 5% to 12%. Obviously, paper companies are unable to absorb the rising cost pressures themselves. Zhuo Chuang information data shows that the national average price of scrap yellow paper in July was 1821.72 yuan / ton, up 47.50% year-on-year; the average national price of cardboard paper in July was 4472.22 yuan / ton, up 49.07% year on year; July corrugated paper nationwide The price was 3934.16 yuan / ton, up 58.23% year-on-year.
Paper prices have risen, which is good for paper companies. Shanying Paper is a large paper group enterprise in our province. The semi-annual report released by the company recently showed that the company achieved operating income of 7.461 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 38.10%, and realized net profit attributable to owners of the parent company 8.26. 100 million yuan, an increase of 450.95%.
Lu Youlong believes that the current soaring price of paper does not rule out speculation. From the demand side, the change is not obvious. “The increase in orders from some downstream packaging companies is not large, and the demand for packaging paper in household appliances, e-commerce and other industries has not increased significantly.†Although the price of paper has soared, Lu Youlong does not dare to expand production capacity blindly, and the new production line is not only invested, but also The cycle is long and it usually takes two years to go into production.
In the interview, the person in charge of the paper company said that although the increase in paper prices led to a large increase in sales, the actual profit did not increase much. The excessively high price of paper will increase the pressure on raw materials supply, and enterprises hope that paper products will have a relatively stable price.
Waste paper became a “Chanxiang†paper company actively vying for raw materials
Some analysts pointed out that the rise in paper prices, on the one hand, is affected by rising production costs, on the other hand, high environmental costs have caused many small and medium-sized paper enterprises to stop production and limit production, and some production capacity has withdrawn.
At 7:00 am on August 17, a waste collection station in the Economic Development Zone of Hefei City has opened its doors.
“In recent months, the price of waste paper has skyrocketed. The waste newspaper has risen from five or six cents a year to eighty-nine cents a pound. The waste cardboard was still 4 cents a pound at the beginning of the year, and now it has seven or eight cents a pound.†Wang, the person in charge, told the reporter that they sold the collected waste paper to the large-scale waste collection station, and the large-scale acquisition station was sold to the paper mill outside the province.
According to Baichuan Information, the current domestic waste paper price is close to 2,000 yuan / ton, reaching a high point since 2012. From August 9 to 10, 49 paper mills nationwide raised the purchase price of waste paper by 20 yuan/ton to 400 yuan/ton.
“Restricted imports of waste paper and other factors, the supply of waste paper has decreased, so the price continues to rise.†Li Jianshe introduced that corrugated paper is the main industrial packaging paper, mainly used for packaging of products in the fields of home appliances, logistics, etc. Recycled waste paper such as cardboard boxes. “40% of the cartons are exported to foreign countries every year, and 60% of the cartons can be recycled. Some large paper companies have always relied on imported waste paper as a raw material. However, as the country has increased restrictions on imported waste paper, This has led to a decline in imports from major paper companies in the country, which has intensified the competition for raw materials in paper mills."
At present, the environmental protection inspectors have increased, the pollutant discharge permit system has accelerated the non-compliant production capacity, and many small paper mills with heavy pollution have been shut down. It is understood that the province has increased environmental protection efforts. Last year, 38 paper-making enterprises with environmental protection standards were eliminated. Among them, there were as many as 14 paper-making enterprises banned in Huoqiu County.
Hefei Jiafu Special Paper Co., Ltd. is a papermaking enterprise located in Feidong County. The head of the company, Fei Guangcai, told reporters that there were more than a dozen paper mills in Hefei, and most of them have been shut down, leaving only two or three. “A few years ago, the paper industry continued to be sluggish, small paper mills were difficult to operate, and 'dead' lost a large number. Since last year, a number of small paper mills that did not meet the standards have been shut down, resulting in a significant reduction in papermaking enterprises and a large production capacity. Enterprise concentration." Li Jianshe said.
Downstream paper products linkage increased the pressure on the packaging industry
The water has risen and the price of paper has risen. Hefei Tianyu Packaging Co., Ltd. is a carton manufacturer. Zhu Jun, the person in charge of the company, complained to the reporter: "Since September last year, the price of paper has continued to rise, and the price of cardboard has almost doubled compared with the same period of last year. I have been doing paper business for decades and have never seen such a high price. â€
"It turns out that one ordinary carton is 1 yuan, and now it costs three or four dollars. The big carton for home appliance packaging is 8.6 yuan last year, and now it is 15.6 yuan." Zhu Jun said that the increase in paper prices has intensified the cost burden of downstream enterprises. The company sells more than 200,000 cartons per month. Last year, the cost of cardboard was only over 200,000 yuan. The cost this year was as high as 300,000 yuan. "Major profit last year was 20%, and this year's gross profit was less than 10%." Loss, despite the rise in paper prices, Zhu Jun still dare not raise prices easily.
Anhui Gutongmei Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. is a foreign trade export enterprise. Zhang Zhihua, the person in charge, has the same feeling: "A steaming box gift box originally cost only 7 yuan, now 13 yuan."
A change in the price of paper one day directly drives the price of the packaging carton. Zhang Zhihua introduced that taking a spa machine box as an example, after the price of the packaging paper increases, the packaging cost accounts for 10% of the total cost. According to a container of 2000, the cost of optical packaging increased by $2,000.
“The Mid-Autumn Festival and the “Double Eleven†are coming one after another. The expectation of rising paper prices is still very strong. We mainly make foreign trade orders and cannot easily raise prices. Of course, under the trend of rising paper prices, we will remind customers to stock up in advance. Zhang Zhihua said.