Market Report
Are top prices low grades already behind us ?
NL-Tilburg, 20 April 2025
Our head office and depots in the Netherlands and Belgium will be closed on Monday 21st for Easter,
It seems that the European paper and board industry has been able to get stocks of recovered paper to sufficient levels. Apparently prices were raised in time to divert export volumes to local and also to get transport arranged for it in time. As a result, no more price increases could be recorded for the low grades this week. A few mill buyers are already hinting at lower prices but it might be a bit early for that. After all, there are still holidays ahead in several countries that will limit both transport capacity and generation of recovered paper. And had increased demand for packaging paper now resulted in higher selling prices or were the price increases mostly trial-and-error that did not (quite) make it? So, would the increased demand for low grades of recovered paper in Europe have only been the result of newly started capacities ? It could well be. Anyway, there is no similar development going on in the US and Asia. So, it is not impossible that we could be on the cusp of a turnaround in the low grades market in Europe. That nice song would have been very short-lived then.
Because in Asia, nothing has changed in terms of demand, rather a weakening of demand and there are certainly no signs of possible price increases in exports. Dollar prices again flat for now this week and prices in Euros lower due to the weak Dollar.
Prices of middle and high grades have been raised a little in Europe by a single buyer, after the same buyers thought they could lower prices at the beginning of the month. It is a thin line along which the balance of prices
for these grades runs. Normally you would then expect that closer to summer, demand would increase a bit more and generation would decrease a bit, possibly leading to higher prices anyway. But what is still “normally” these days. Reports of tariffs are flying around our ears. Introduced one day, cancelled or postponed the next. And all that can affect our market. We better should just not look too far ahead.
Price indication
Price indication in Europe for low grades of recovered paper, sorted, baled and ex works are now between € 90 and € 120 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.