While exports of OCC actually increased in December, the picture was different for mixed paper and news & pam grades.
OCC – commodity code 470710
According to the latest HMRC data, a total of 229,315 tonnes of OCC was exported from the UK in December 2017.
This compares to 211,651 tonnes in November that was exported globally.
It means exports have grown for two months in a row following the 196,235 tonnes, which was unusually low for October.
However, December 2017’s total exports were significantly lower than in December 2016 when 244,872 tonnes was shipped from the UK.
OCC key destinations (47071000)
| wdt_ID | Date | China | Vietnam | India | Indonesia | EU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 01/12/2017 | 169,797,238 | 34,109,420 | 8,423,207 | 6,773,072 | 6,969,379 |
| 2 | 01/11/2017 | 141,195,914 | 24,491,024 | 13,601,647 | 8,683,621 | 6,358,291 |
| 3 | 01/10/2017 | 92,401,545 | 50,490,531 | 11,873,555 | 12,380,518 | 13,695,821 |
| 4 | 01/09/2017 | 220,831,969 | 22,871,385 | 12,628,455 | 3,961,079 | 8,304,184 |
| 5 | 01/08/2017 | 117,351,874 | 16,737,793 | 9,619,311 | 3,816,526 | 9,572,395 |
| 6 | 01/07/2017 | 145,445,005 | 7,086,910 | 5,253,257 | 2,246,658 | 7,136,389 |
| 7 | 01/06/2017 | 233,535,331 | 4,335,207 | 7,572,675 | 135,975 | 14,069,860 |
| 8 | 01/05/2017 | 181,070,651 | 14,451,740 | 14,406,892 | 818,736 | 5,455,701 |
| 9 | 01/04/2017 | 210,157,209 | 17,300,095 | 19,477,521 | 13,606,232 | 8,853,811 |
| 10 | 01/03/2017 | 232,512,036 | 10,464,640 | 10,429,028 | 8,800,361 | 3,825,716 |
China remained the key destination with 169,797 tonnes exported there in December. This was an improvement on November’s 141,195 tonnes and October’s record low (since February 2012 when we started collecting the data) of 92,401 tonnes.
But this was also much lower than the 217,429 tonnes exported in December 2016 and is vastly lower than the 272,133 tonnes of December 2015.
Indeed it is the lowest amount China has bought in the last month of the year since 141,849 tonnes was purchased by the country in December 2012. Overall, China’s purchasing was sluggish in Q4 of 2017, and anecdotally, it appears that this has continued into 2018 too.
The next best destination continued to be Vietnam, which has now become a crucial purchaser of material.
In December, it took 34,109 tonnes of OCC, up from 24,491 tonnes in November. This was still lower than the record 50,490 tonnes purchased in October.
To put this in context, Vietnam didn’t take any cardboard from the UK in December 2016.
India was the next best destination in December buying 8,423 tonnes down from 13,601 tonnes in November. This was the lowest India had taken since July 2017.
Europe as a whole was next with 6,969 tonnes, up from 6,358 tonnes. But this was significantly lower than the 13,695 tonnes purchased in October. Netherlands (4,538 tonnes) and France (1,177 tonnes) were the key buyers.
The final export destination of any significance in terms of tonnage was Indonesia with 6,773 tonnes, down from 8,683 tonnes in November and 12,380 tonnes in October.
Mixed paper – commodity code 470790
With imports of mixed paper under this commodity code banned into China from 1 January 2018, you might have expected that December would be a quiet month for exports from the UK to there.
But this wasn’t the case.
Mixed paper key destinations (47079010)
| wdt_ID | Date | China | Vietnam | India | Indonesia | EU total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 01/12/2017 | 22,529,805 | 5,767,421 | 16,168,213 | 28,701,760 | 15,069,808 |
| 2 | 01/11/2017 | 21,525,899 | 6,776,878 | 21,513,241 | 32,511,340 | 19,241,687 |
| 3 | 01/10/2017 | 9,593,975 | 4,340,760 | 14,774,368 | 54,498,670 | 24,596,269 |
| 4 | 01/09/2017 | 37,134,676 | 3,672,400 | 5,658,543 | 17,281,140 | 27,499,171 |
| 5 | 01/01/2018 | 19,743,449 | 5,635,360 | 26,605,749 | 18,178,619 | 22,555,181 |
| 6 | 01/02/2018 | 16,615,169 | 6,738,460 | 37,931,747 | 14,731,060 | 23,951,039 |
| 7 | 01/03/2018 | 9,506,604 | 3,401,120 | 62,254,124 | 18,293,150 | 30,951,364 |
| 8 | 01/04/2018 | 12,467,300 | 6,865,830 | 43,863,425 | 16,487,850 | 32,221,347 |
| 9 | 01/05/2018 | 20,530,708 | 7,271,480 | 31,540,048 | 8,371,720 | 31,144,679 |
| 10 | 01/06/2018 | 17,873,411 | 4,860,900 | 21,463,876 | 23,196,375 | 29,530,427 |
A total of 22,529 tonnes of mixed paper was exported to China in December, up from 21,525 tonnes in November. This was much better than the 9,593 tonnes that was exported from the UK in October, but all of these were lower than September’s 37,134 tonnes.
Indonesia was actually the strongest destination, with 28,701 tonnes exported there in December, although this was down from 32,511 tonnes in November, and a rather large 54,498 tonnes in October.
India was the next best outlet for UK mixed paper taking 16,168 tonnes down from November’s 21,513 tonnes.
European demand for mixed paper fell to 15,069 tonnes in December, from 19,241 tonnes in November, 24,596 tonnes in October, and 27,499 tonnes in September.
Netherlands took most with 8,023 tonnes, then Germany (3,704 tonnes) then France (2,398 tonnes).
News & pam – commodity code 470730
Europe as a whole led the way for purchases of this commodity code in December with a total of 7,208 tonnes.
This was an improvement on November’s 6,360 tonnes, but lower than October’s 7,631 tonnes.
Germany led the way with 3,106 tonnes followed by Spain with 1,495 tonnes then Netherlands with 1,350 tonnes.
N&P key destinations (470730)
| wdt_ID | Date | China | Hong Kong | India | Indonesia | EU total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 01/12/2017 | 4,109,684 | 2,891,240 | 5,750,650 | 1,196,290 | 7,208,623 |
| 2 | 01/11/2017 | 22,701,293 | 854,064 | 6,427,402 | 2,439,980 | 6,360,676 |
| 3 | 01/10/2017 | 9,878,248 | 2,237,977 | 4,495,196 | 4,133,030 | 7,631,169 |
| 4 | 01/09/2017 | 10,441,460 | 593,225 | 1,422,481 | 2,950,660 | 7,715,215 |
| 5 | 01/01/2018 | 8,524,061 | 1,958,580 | 7,465,626 | 2,193,538 | 6,699,157 |
| 6 | 01/02/2018 | 8,068,680 | 1,397,100 | 6,475,890 | 3,724,600 | 6,653,235 |
| 7 | 01/03/2018 | 7,895,400 | 2,116,520 | 16,849,145 | 2,073,660 | 6,505,887 |
| 8 | 01/04/2018 | 7,804,741 | 2,645,300 | 14,271,690 | 8,301,805 | 6,904,991 |
| 9 | 01/05/2018 | 17,523,240 | 303,650 | 8,586,135 | 1,655,540 | 7,265,323 |
| 10 | 01/06/2018 | 13,436,260 | 3,619,580 | 5,707,480 | 2,799,660 | 2,028,904 |
After Europe, India was the next best destination with 5, 750 tonnes. This was down on November’s 6,427 tonnes, but an improvement on the 4,495 tonnes sent there in October.
China saw a significant fall to 4,109 tonnes in December from 22,701 tonnes in November and 9,878 tonnes in October.
OCC historic data – all destinations
