January marked the end of a long series of price increases for woodfree paper that manufacturers were instituting quarter by quarter in Italy over the last two years in an effort to catch up with rising pulp prices.

Woodfree uncoated paper manufacturers were unsuccessful in their efforts to invoice more in Italy for deliveries as of January. Manufacturers and buyers blamed several factors for the failure of their attempts to charge more, including weak demand and lower hardwood and softwood pulp prices.

Woodfree coated paper manufacturers were suffering even more from slow demand at the end of 2018 and start of 2019. From an initial position of actively demanding price mark-ups, many a provider thus quickly found itself forced into a defensive stance.

Source: euwid-paper.com