BIR World Mirror on Recovered Paper / Quarterly Report - July 2014

Ranjit Baxi, J&H Sales International Ltd

International Market with a focus on Asia

Global trade has continued to strengthen so far this year, with increasing geopolitical risks beginning to resurface. However, the global recovery is still fragile and some of the EU economies are still reporting zero or very low growth. In France, the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) has dropped below 50, reflecting a possible downturn and a weaker economy.

Of the advanced economies, the USA, the UK and Germany have greatly influenced the positive growth in world trade. Demand across many of the advanced economies is generally strong, driving up exports out of China and other Far Eastern countries and thus leading to an upturn in demand both for packaging and recovered fibre.

Both quality and fibre pricing have continued to dominate the export market. With firmer demand in some EU countries and weaker export prices, it was a challenge to maintain export levels during the second quarter. Currency volatility, with both the Euro and sterling strengthening against the  US dollar, had a marked impact on export margins (...)

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