Recycling export report: Paper (February 2019)

April 12, 2019

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Overall, figures from the latest HMRC Data showed that mixed paper was in demand throughout February for most destinations, while OCC and News and Pams saw some major decreases.

OCC – Commodity Code 470710

After seeing a revival in the quantity of OCC being exported from the UK in January, this demand dwindled throughout February.

Globally, 189,506 tonnes was exported, a major decrease on January’s figure of 249,126 tonnes.

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Although China remained the dominant buyer, the amount it imported fell dramatically throughout February, as it purchased 109,459 tonnes, down from 160,099 tonnes in the previous month. This is the lowest figure since February 2018, when 104,349 tonnes was bought.

Indonesia saw its imports of OCC fall by over half this month, as it purchased 10,176 tonnes, down from 20,893 tonnes in January. However, this is higher than a year ago, when 6,143 tonnes was exported from the UK.

India increased the amount of OCC it imported, as it bought 16,142 tonnes, up from the 11,813 tonnes last month. This is significantly down on February 2018 when the figure was 42,309 tonnes.

Vietnam’s purchase of OCC fell during February, as the UK exported 8,855 tonnes to the country, down on last month’s figure of 12,377 tonnes. However, this is double the amount of February 2018 (4,813 tonnes).

The EU imported 11,996 tonnes, slightly up from the 10,050 tonnes in January. This is the highest amount since October 2017 (13,695 tonnes). The Netherlands was the best buyer (5,432 tonnes), followed by Germany (4,062 tonnes).

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

Mixed paper – Commodity Code 470790

Globally, mixed paper increased from 129,428 tonnes in January to 138,328 tonnes this month.

The interesting pattern of China being the best buyer of this material, despite it being banned, continued into February, although there was competition from India for this title this month. The country purchased 37,141 tonnes, a decrease from 44,435 tonnes last month, although it is the second highest amount that we have on our records for this material to China.

As mentioned, there was competition from India this month, as it imported 37,129 tonnes, an improvement from 32,823 tonnes in January. However, it is just slightly below the 37,931 tonnes the UK sent to the country this time last year.

Indonesia saw a massive increase in the quantity of mixed paper it imported this month, as it bought 27,167 tonnes, up from 17,110 tonnes last month. This is the highest amount since December 2017 (28,701 tonnes), and it is nearly double the figure of February 2018 (14,731 tonnes).

Vietnam slightly increased its purchase of this material, up from 5,299 tonnes to 6,144 tonnes. This is down on February 2018, when it imported 6,738 tonnes.

The EU also slightly reduced the quantity of this material, down from 22,637 tonnes to 22,138 tonnes.

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

News & Pams – Commodity Code 470730

The UK exported 16,552 tonnes globally throughout February, a decline from 22,302 tonnes in January.

A total of 7,027 tonnes was bought by the EU, a small decrease from last month’s figure of 7,174 tonnes, but it still remained the dominant byer of this material.

The UK exported 5,345 tonnes to India, an increase from 4,930 tonnes last month. However, this is down on this month last year when 6,475 tonnes was purchased.

Continuing the trend seen in December 2018, Hong Kong bought zero amounts of N&P in February, compared to last month when a measly 187 tonnes was imported.

China reduced its import of this material, buying just 487 tonnes, down from 1,526 tonnes in January. This is the lowest amount of N&P we have on our records for China. In February 2018, this number was 8,068 tonnes.

Indonesia imported just over a third of what it imported last month, buying 2,752 tonnes, down from 6,403 tonnes in January.

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