Ministry of Industry: "Joint Response by Paper, Corrugated Board, and Box Industries"
On the 25th, when rain fell across most regions nationwide, a citizen hurried along Mugyo-ro in Jung-gu, Seoul, shielding themselves from the rain with a newspaper. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@
[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Newspaper paper will be converted into corrugated cardboard for equipment use, increasing the domestic supply volume by 20,000 tons per month.
The Korea Paper Association, Korea Paper Industry Cooperative, Korea Corrugated Packaging Industry Cooperative, and Korea Box Industry Cooperative signed a "Mutual Cooperation Agreement for Stabilizing Corrugated Cardboard Supply and Demand" on the 30th. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it has been monitoring the supply and demand trends of corrugated cardboard with the industry, analyzing concerns and causes, and discussing stabilization measures.
In October, a fire broke out at Daeyang Paper, which produces 33,000 tons of corrugated cardboard per month. The demand for corrugated cardboard boxes for delivery surged due to the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
As a result, domestic shipments of corrugated cardboard base paper temporarily decreased last month. Since this month, the recovery trend has been observed, returning to the level before the fire accident in October.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to stabilize supply and demand by promoting ▲conversion of newspaper paper equipment to corrugated cardboard use ▲restraining exports and expanding imports ▲supporting material procurement for small and medium specialized companies ▲requesting companies demanding corrugated cardboard boxes to refrain from excessive pre-purchasing, together with the private sector.
In particular, through the conversion of newspaper paper equipment, the domestic supply volume will be expanded by 20,000 tons per month. Some of the newspaper paper production facilities producing 19,000 tons per month are being converted to produce corrugated cardboard base paper. An additional 1,000 tons will be increased.
The industry will refrain from exports as much as possible except for already contracted volumes, increasing domestic supply by 17,000 tons per month. Imports of corrugated cardboard base paper from Japan, Southeast Asia, and other regions will be increased. Approximately 60,000 tons of corrugated cardboard base paper will be imported by March next year.
Supply difficulties of small and medium specialized companies will be resolved through joint purchasing of corrugated cardboard base paper.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the industry plan to continue monitoring supply and demand trends until the instability is completely resolved.
Kang Kyung-sung, Director of Industrial Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, met with Kim Seok-man, Chairman of the Paper Association, and said, "We appreciate the swift establishment of domestic supply expansion measures for stabilizing corrugated cardboard supply and demand through the cooperation of the paper industry."
Director Kang added, "Since the corrugated cardboard supply issue can affect industry and the daily lives of the public, we will continuously monitor supply and demand trends."
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