U.S. Boosts Recovered Paper Shipments to India, Thailand and Vietnam after China’s Import Ban

IndexBox has just published a new report: 'U.S. - Recovered Paper - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights'. Here is a summary of the report's key findings.

Since China's ban on recovered paper imports came into force in 2021, the U.S. offset losses from reduced trade with China by redirecting export flows to India, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil, Singapore, Malaysia and some other countries. In the first seven months of 2021, American exports reached $1.9B, picking up +44% against the same period in 2020. India topped the ranking of major importers of recovered paper from the U.S., taking the place of the last year's leader, China. Compared to other leading importers, Brazil recorded the highest spike in recovered paper purchases from the U.S.

American Recovered Paper Exports in 2021

Last year, analytics around the world predicted that American recovered paper exports would reduce as China's authorities announced a ban on imports of such materials since the beginning of 2021. In 2020, China was the key destination for recovered paper exports from the U.S., accounting for a 30% share of total exports. Contrary to sceptical forecasts, American recovered paper exports registered strong growth this year.

In the first seven months of 2021, American recovered paper exports reached $1.9B, growing by +44% against the same period in 2020. Since China imposed a ban on recovered paper imports in 2021, the U.S. significantly ramped up exports to other countries, in particular to India, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil, Singapore and Malaysia.

Compared to the same period in 2020, American recovered paper exports to India and Singapore grew threefold in value terms in the first seven months of 2021. The supplies to Thailand and Malaysia increased fivefold, while exports to Vietnam rose by four times. Among the largest importers, Brazil recorded the highest spike in recovered paper purchases from the U.S., expanding its imports by twenty-four times in value terms.

From January 2021 to July 2021, India purchased recovered paper from the U.S. worth $0.5B, ranking first among the largest importers. Mexico ($0.3B), Thailand ($0.2B), and Vietnam ($0.2B) followed India.

World's Largest Recovered Paper Exporters

The U.S. represented the largest exporting country with an export of about 14M tonnes, which resulted at 32% of total exports. The UK (3.8M tonnes) ranks second in terms of the total exports with an 8.5% share, followed by Japan (7.1%), the Netherlands (5.6%) and France (5%). The following exporters - Germany (1.9M tonnes), Italy (1.8M tonnes), Canada (1.4M tonnes), Poland (1.2M tonnes), Belgium (1M tonnes), Australia (0.9M tonnes), the Czech Republic (0.9M tonnes) and Spain (0.7M tonnes) - together made up 22% of total exports.

In value terms, the U.S. ($2.5B) remains the largest recovered paper supplier worldwide, comprising 39% of global exports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by the UK ($506M), with an 8.1% share of global exports. It was followed by Japan, with a 6.6% share.

World's Largest Recovered Paper Importers

In 2020, China (11M tonnes), distantly followed by India (6M tonnes), Germany (4.3M tonnes), Vietnam (3.5M tonnes), Indonesia (3M tonnes) and the Netherlands (2.7M tonnes) were the major importers of recovered paper, together mixing up 62% of total imports. The following importers - Thailand (1.6M tonnes), Turkey (1.5M tonnes), Austria (1.5M tonnes), Mexico (1.5M tonnes), Taiwan (Chinese) (1.5M tonnes), Spain (1.3M tonnes) and South Korea (1.1M tonnes) - together made up 20% of total imports.

In value terms, China ($1.9B), India ($964M) and Germany ($577M) constituted the countries with the highest levels of imports in 2020, with a combined 46% share of global imports.

Source: IndexBox Platform