By the end of 2025, the domestic paper industry is set to experience a new round of price adjustments. Leading companies such as Shanying International, Jiulong Paper Industry, APP, and Asia Pulp & Paper will successively release price adjustment notices, with the price increase plan to be officially implemented from the end of November to the beginning of December.
This price adjustment covers two major categories: packaging paper and cultural paper. In terms of packaging paper, products such as corrugated cardboard and containerboard have seen a relatively moderate price increase, with an average rise of about 50 yuan per ton. Meanwhile, the cultural paper sector has seen a more significant price adjustment, with products such as copy paper and double-sided glossy paper increasing by 200 yuan per ton.
It is reported that this is the third round of concentrated price increases in the paper industry this year. From January to March this year, the industry experienced the first round of price adjustments, and in May, it saw the second round of price increases. Each round of price adjustments involved multiple paper types, including corrugated paper, recycled kraft paper, cultural paper, and coated paper, which are mainstream products.
Paper companies generally stated that the price increase is mainly due to the rising cost of raw materials. The international short-fiber pulp price has been continuously rising, which has obviously put pressure on the production cost of enterprises. At the same time, the price of some paper types has been operating at a low level for a long time, and the profit margin of enterprises has been squeezed.
From the market performance, the price adjustment in the cultural paper field is particularly frequent. The leading enterprises such as Shangao Paper Industry, Chenming Paper Industry, and Huatai Shares have issued multiple price increase notices for cultural paper this year. Among them, Shangao Paper Industry plans to increase the price of cultural paper by 100 yuan/ton in January and 200 yuan/ton in February next year.
The market for wrapping paper is also facing cost pressures. Companies such as K令 Heng Paper, Jiangxi Liwen Paper, and Hubei Rongcheng Paper have successively announced that they will adjust the prices of corrugated paper, recycled kraft paper, and other products from a specific time. Although the price increase is relatively small, it reflects the trend of cost transmission in the entire industry.
Industry insiders point out that the current period is the traditional peak season for cultural paper, and under the cost pressure brought by the rise in raw material prices, paper mills choose to maintain their profit margin by raising prices. This pricing strategy has formed a certain consensus in the industry, and many companies have adopted similar price adjustment measures.
From the perspective of product structure, there are obvious differences in the price increase of different paper types. The price increase of containerboard and corrugated paper has relatively small, remaining at the level of 30 to 50 yuan/ton. The price increase of other paper types, such as cultural paper, coated paper, and white cardboard, has reached about 200 yuan/ton.
This round of price increase will also have a certain impact on downstream industries. Printers, packaging manufacturers and other users of paper products need to bear higher raw material costs. It is understood that some printing shops have begun to adjust their paper purchasing strategy to deal with the operating pressure brought by the rising cost.