In January-September 2017, paper production in Finland totalled 5 million tonnes, which represents a decrease of 2.3% compared to the corresponding period last year. In the 3Q 2017, paper production amounted to 1.7 million tonnes, which is about 1% less than in the 3Q 2016, as the Finnish Forest Industries Federation (FFIF) said in the press release received by Lesprom Network.
“Demand for printing and writing paper has been decreasing for a long time now, especially due to digitalisation in developed markets, and this is reflected in paper production,” says Timo Jaatinen, Director General of the FFIF.
Meanwhile, changing consumer habits have had a positive impact on paperboard demand. Online shopping increases demand for paperboard packaging, as does the fact that plastic packaging is being replaced by paperboard packaging manufactured from a renewable material.
In January-September, paperboard production totalled 2.7 million tonnes, which is 7.9% more than in the year ago period. In July-September, 0.9 million tonnes of paperboard was produced, which represents an increase of 9% compared to the corresponding period in 2016.
Pulp production in January-September amounted to 5.7 million tonnes, up by 2.3% from the same period last year. In recent years, Finnish forest industry companies have made significant investments into pulp production capacity but this is not yet fully reflected in production volumes. In July-September, 1.9 million tonnes of pulp was produced, an increase of 5% from the same period in 2016.
