The impact of energy price increases in the UK has been revealed in the Confederation of Paper Industries’ preliminary 2005 statistics. Although the overall production stayed above 6Mt, the output in December, 2005, was the lowest recorded by the industry since the beginning of 1993. This follows the closure of four mills between October and December.
Paper and board consumption fell to 12.5Mt, a small decrease in demand over 2004. While production of newsprint continued to increase, demand for graphic and wrapping grades remained unchanged. However, production of corrugated case materials fell 10 per cent, with demand down by 1 per cent and the output of tissue grades fell by 1.3 per cent.
Exports now represent 19 per cent of total UK paper and board production, compared with 21 per cent. Export sales fell by 10 per cent, to 1.164Mt, and have fallen by over 250,000t since 1999. Meanwhile, imports of paper stayed at around 7.6Mt, representing over 61per cent of total UK paper and board consumption.
Kathy Bradley, the CPI’s director external affairs, says: “The past 12 months have been extremely tough for the paper industry. The unprecedented rise in energy prices has put severe strain on the whole industry”.
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