Market Report
Forget export - sell local . . . .
NL-Tilburg, 5 April 2026
A week on, everything has changed in the waste paper market. Well, everything. That’s an exaggeration, but there’s no shortage of surprises – or, if you like, the misjudgements we’ve made.
Whilst the focus was on developments in exports, the problems with container transport and freight rates, and the caution of buyers in Asia who simply weren’t trading at the pace we were used to – or at least had expected – very little actually changed in terms of exports over the past week. Oh yes, mills were willing to place orders, but adequate compensation for freight rates remained a sticking point, causing export prices to increasingly align with local European levels.
Locally in Europe, we were told as recently as last week that there was a willingness to contribute to the surcharges on freight rates, but this was by no means supported across the market. A few market leaders in recovered paper procurement indicated they would do nothing at all. After all, there was plenty of supply. So, despite the general optimism in our sector given the enquiries we were receiving, we had to put aside the idea that there would be more room for price increases than what would need to be paid for extra transport. As a result, the number of mill buyers who understood the market better – or at least had a better sense of the sentiment – and who as a result of that offered an indicative increase of €5 per tonne for certain low grades, remained limited.
But in the middle of this last week, one of the local European market leaders suddenly announced a price increase of €10 per tonne for cardboard grades recovered paper. Nothing is as changeable as the weather and the purchasing policies of paper and board mills, it seems. Anyway, the main explanation given was the coming months with many bank holidays across Europe and potential supply issues, as well as the fact that the desire for price increases for finished (new) packaging paper is difficult to justify given unchanged raw material prices.
With this new reality, the wave of price increases for low grades of recovered paper quickly spread across the whole of Western Europe. We will have to wait and see what the consequences are, but it is obvious that buyers in Asia will now have to compete with European buyers, as local prices have reached the same level – and why choose the uncertainty of exporting when the same price can be achieved right next door? Has the genie been let out of the bottle? That might be an
exaggeration, but optimism has certainly gained more traction, at least as far as the low grades recovered paper are concerned.
For the middle and high grades, the market picture is very different. Tissue grades are still under pressure and, due to increased use of pulp/cellulose and high stock levels—partly caused by delays in the conversion of Essity UK’s facilities—prices have been falling across the board for quite some time now. This does not apply to de-inking grades for graphic paper producers, where demand remains strong but supply is limited. It should not be forgotten that consumption of graphic paper is still ‘simply’ shrinking by around 10% per year, and so is generation. Purchasing woodfree grades that are currently not being taken up by tissue producers helps to make up for the limited availability, but it is not an ideal situation. On the positive side for us, however, the lower purchase prices from tissue producers have opened the door further for exports to Asia and South America. Every disadvantage has its advantage, as we know.
Price indication
Price indication in Europe for low grades of recovered paper, sorted, baled and ex works are now between € 60 and € 80 per tonne. These prices are depending on quality, available volume, region and loaded weight.
Look here at the Price chart >>
The price chart gives an indication of the price of mixed paper, separately collected, in the Netherlands free delivered mill over the last 10 years.
Scrolling over the top of the columns gives the exact price indication in Euro's per ton.