Cepi has called for protection for the European paper industry following a further year of decline demand and consolidation.
Its annual statistical report records the loss of 13 companies, 19 mills (18 of which are non integrated paper and board mills) and the closure of 22 paper machines.
This amounts to a 1.6% decline in overall production, masking steeper declines in graphic grades. Production of newsprint fell 7.3%, of uncoated mechanicals by 10.9%, coated mechanicals by 10.8%, uncoated woodfree by 4.7% and coated woodfree by 6.2%. Consumption of these grades also fell though not as sharply.
At the same time imports are rising, reaching 7.7% of EU consumption in 2025. Imports from Asia increase 6.9% and from Latin America by 16.0%. This has led Cepi to demand action to protect European production rather than face death by a thousand cuts. This comes at a time when there is a clear need to deliver sustainable products for consumer goods markets, logistics and hygiene as alternatives to fossil fuel produced materials. European paper makers cut specific CO2 emissions by 10.2% in 2025 and operates “the world’s most effective recycling system” it says though collection dipped 0.5% last year.
Cepi director general Jori Ringman says: “Cepi calls for a coherent policy response that reinforces trade defence instruments, ensures a predictable and investment friendly regulatory framework, and strengthens Europe’s circular bio based value chains.
“A slow drift may be less visible than a sudden shock, but its long term consequences for Europe’s industrial resilience, climate leadership, and strategic autonomy are no less significant.”
The arrival of EUDR at the end of this year, which requires traceability on all wood based products imported into the EU, may affect some pulp and paper imports into the EU. However this is unlikely to tip the balance completely.
The EU has in the past imposed tariffs on certain paper grades which it said were being dumped on EU markets at below cost prices.
However, the decline in consumption of newsprint and mechanical grades reflects deep market shifts away from the use of these papers in low value print products. The overall decline also hit packaging grades with carton board production falling 5.4% and consumption dropping 5.2%. Containerboard, the largest part of the packing market, increased production by 1.6% with consumption virtually static. Only wrappings experienced a growth in consumption (2.2%) and an increase in production (1.0%).
