A paper mill (Photo: vppa.vn) HCMCity (VNA/VNS) - The paper industry has potential for growth, butbusinesses need to avoid investment in products that have excess supply,according to the Vietnam Paper and Pulp Association (VPPA).
It said free trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and ProgressiveAgreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Vietnam-EU FTA wouldopen up opportunities for industries that use a lot of paper products, likegarment and textile, and footwear, as well as export opportunities for thepaper industry itself.
Speaking to Viet Nam News, Hoang Trung Son, the association’s vicechairman, said the industry has achieved average annual growth of 10-12 percent,with packaging paper sales growing at 15-17 percent.
Exports of paper materials and finished paper products last year were worthnearly 1.1 billion USD, an increase of 50 percent from 2017.
In the domestic market, demand for packaging, tissue, writing and printingpapers could increase by 10-20 percent this year, he said.
But paper firms face fierce competition both at home and abroad, he said.
Printing and writing paper production in China has gone up sharply this year,but it faces difficulties in exporting due to the US-China trade war, and sowould increase exports to other countries, including Vietnam, according toVPPA.
Other countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Japan are also eyeing theVietnamese market, it said.
Son said demand for packaging paper in the domestic market is high, but supplyhas increased faster than demand, leading to oversupply.
“There is an imbalance in investment in the paper industry, with most newprojects in the last three years focusing on normal packaging paper.
“Vietnam still has to import high-quality packaging paper, coated paper andeven photocopy paper.
“We export normal packaging paper, and then import high-quality paper such asduplex and paper for making paper glasses.
“Vietnamese firms need to adjust their product structure, stop investing innormal packaging paper because supply exceeds demand and invest in other types... such as shoe lining paper, paper for wrapping clothes, high-qualitypackaging paper, and coated, duplex, couche and bristol paper.”
According to the association, per capita paper consumption in Vietnam is around51kg per year compared to the world average of 58kg. So demand would continueto increase by 8-10 percent annually, it said.
Son said with the current movement to reduce plastic waste, demand for paperbags and wrapping paper would increase.
Material shortage
Investment in the pulp sector in Vietnam remainsmodest, making the industry reliant on imported raw materials.
“Import demand will surely increase rapidly,” Son said.
Addressing the lack of raw materials is among the keys to sustain theindustry’s development, he said.
There are around 500 enterprises in the industry, mostly small- or medium-sizedor household businesses.-VNA/VNS
It said free trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and ProgressiveAgreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Vietnam-EU FTA wouldopen up opportunities for industries that use a lot of paper products, likegarment and textile, and footwear, as well as export opportunities for thepaper industry itself.
Speaking to Viet Nam News, Hoang Trung Son, the association’s vicechairman, said the industry has achieved average annual growth of 10-12 percent,with packaging paper sales growing at 15-17 percent.
Exports of paper materials and finished paper products last year were worthnearly 1.1 billion USD, an increase of 50 percent from 2017.
In the domestic market, demand for packaging, tissue, writing and printingpapers could increase by 10-20 percent this year, he said.
But paper firms face fierce competition both at home and abroad, he said.
Printing and writing paper production in China has gone up sharply this year,but it faces difficulties in exporting due to the US-China trade war, and sowould increase exports to other countries, including Vietnam, according toVPPA.
Other countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Japan are also eyeing theVietnamese market, it said.
Son said demand for packaging paper in the domestic market is high, but supplyhas increased faster than demand, leading to oversupply.
“There is an imbalance in investment in the paper industry, with most newprojects in the last three years focusing on normal packaging paper.
“Vietnam still has to import high-quality packaging paper, coated paper andeven photocopy paper.
“We export normal packaging paper, and then import high-quality paper such asduplex and paper for making paper glasses.
“Vietnamese firms need to adjust their product structure, stop investing innormal packaging paper because supply exceeds demand and invest in other types... such as shoe lining paper, paper for wrapping clothes, high-qualitypackaging paper, and coated, duplex, couche and bristol paper.”
According to the association, per capita paper consumption in Vietnam is around51kg per year compared to the world average of 58kg. So demand would continueto increase by 8-10 percent annually, it said.
Son said with the current movement to reduce plastic waste, demand for paperbags and wrapping paper would increase.
Material shortage
Investment in the pulp sector in Vietnam remainsmodest, making the industry reliant on imported raw materials.
“Import demand will surely increase rapidly,” Son said.
Addressing the lack of raw materials is among the keys to sustain theindustry’s development, he said.
There are around 500 enterprises in the industry, mostly small- or medium-sizedor household businesses.-VNA/VNS
VNA
