Exporters from Europe and the USA must put quality at the “top of every business agenda”, according to BIR Paper Division president Ranjit Baxi.
Speaking at the recent BIR convention in Shanghai, the J&H Sales managing director also said that exporters when supplying Asian countries must also increase their focus on the specific quality requirements of the individual receiving country.
He noted that China operates its own long-established material classifications, and while they do not expect foreign suppliers to achieve zero prohibitive materials, neither are they prepared to accept 10 per cent wax-coated paper.
In his final speech before handing over the presidency of the BIR Paper Division to Reinhold Schmidt of Recycling Karla Schmidt in Germany, Ranjit Baxi said that China’s annual recovered fibre imports topped 30 million tonnes in 2012 from 27.28 million tonnes in 2011.
However, in a separate presentation, RISI associate economist Minnie Kong said that domestic collections were increasing in China and as a result, imports now accounted for around 40 per cent of China’s recovered fibre requirements compared to 48 per cent in 2005.
She added that recovered paper demand will continue to grow throughout Asia with OCC expected to register the largest tonnage gains over the next year or so.
