Wood Pulp Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast (2024-2030)

Wood Pulp Market Overview

Wood pulp is a mushy, wet, and shapeless mass of material, made from wood fibre that has been chemically or physically processed to create paper and other products. Cellulose is the main component of the pulp fibre, in addition to hemicellulose, lignin, resin, pigment, pectin and ash and other substances. Cellulose and hemicellulose are the basic components of pulp, while the other components are removed. There are many properties of pulp, which are divided into physical and chemical properties.

Wood pulp is produced by using two different methods, which are Mechanical pulping and Chemical pulping. Mechanical wood pulp, also called grinding wood pulp, is a pulp made by mechanical grinding of fibre raw materials. It occupies an important position in the paper industry. It has low production cost, simple production process, strong ink absorption, high opacity, soft and smooth paper. Suitable for printing requirements. Mechanical wood pulp is mainly used to produce newsprint.

In Chemical pulping, Sulphate wood pulp is a mixture of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide as cooking agent. In the cooking process, because the action of the liquid is gentle, the fibre is not strongly eroded, so the paper is strong, and the paper has excellent flexural, breaking and tearing strength. It is divided into bleached and unbleached generally. Unbleached sulphate pulp is used to manufacture sulphate paper, bag paper, sulphate carton paper and general wrapping paper and paperboard. Bleached sulphate pulp is used to produce high-grade printing paper, drawing newspaper, offset paper and writing paper.

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Wood Pulp Market Dynamics

Demand for Paper and Packaging Products

With the growing paper and packaging industries, demand for wood pulp also increases, which is key ingredient in their production. Peoples changing preference towards eco-friendly approach is driving the paper packaging industry to replace plastic packaging, which is boosting the growth of wood pulp industry. Paper packaging is 100 per cent recyclable and is easy to recycle for customers, and also Government initiatives to replace plastic with paper is helping the wood pulp market to grow. The market growth is anticipated to be propelled by the increasing worldwide demand and consumption of tissue paper, which is mostly utilized in homes, kitchens, and restrooms.

The use of and production of sanitary goods made of pulp is rising as people's awareness of personal hygiene and sanitation grows. Utilizing wood fibres and recycled paper pulp instead of plastic, tissue-based producers are pushed by a new desire to create sustainable and environmentally friendly products. In recent times, emerging nations have become more and more in demand for tissue paper and other hygienic items made of pulp.

Environmental Regulations and Social Factors

Strict environmental laws limit the pulp production techniques and require compliance with standards, which raise production cost and limit availability. Public opposition to specific forestry techniques result from worries about habit degradation, deforestation, and indigenous rights limit access to wood fibre resources. Apart from this, volatility in raw material prices, competitive pressure, and technological limitations affect the growth of wood pulp market.

Innovation in Product Development and Emerging Markets

There is potential for innovation in development of new paper and packaging products with improved features like strength, biodegradability, and lightweight characteristics. These products open u new market segments and uplift the demand for wood pulp. Rapid industrialization and urbanisation in developing countries creates prospect for rising paper and packaging product consumption, which raises the need for wood pulp in regions where the economy is growing. Companies have a chance to engage in eco-friendly production techniques and sustainable forestry practices in response to consumer’s preference for environmentally responsible products.

Wood Pulp Market Segment Analysis

Based on Grade, the market is segmented into Mechanical, Semi chemical, Chemical pulp and others. The process of making Mechanical Grade wood pulp includes separating the fibres without using any chemicals. It includes pulping from recycled paper, thermomechanical pulping (TMP), chemithermomechanical pulping (CTMP), refiner pulping, and stone groundwood pulping (SGW). Wood chips are mechanically ground or refined against a revolving abrasive surface to create it. In contrast to chemical pulp, it preserves a large portion of the natural lignin and other wood constituents, leading to fibres that are coarser and shorter. It has low production cost, simple production process, strong ink absorption, high opacity, soft and smooth paper. Suitable for printing requirements. Mechanical wood pulp is mainly used to produce newsprint.

Chemical Grade Pulp, refers to make pulp from raw material with a chemical agent. This method uses fibre plants (mainly wood and straw) as raw materials, and removes most of the lignin by the chemical agent that selectively react with the lignin contained in the raw materials, and makes the single fibre of material is sufficiently separated into pulp, generally, obtained pulp has a high purity of cellulose. There are two types of pulp commonly used in industrial production: alkali pulping and sulfite pulping. 

In the cooking process, because the action of the liquid is gentle, the fibre is not strongly eroded, so the paper is strong, and the paper has excellent flexural, breaking and tearing strength. It is divided into bleached and unbleached generally. Unbleached sulphate pulp is used to manufacture sulphate paper, bag paper, sulphate carton paper and general wrapping paper and paperboard. Bleached sulphate pulp is used to produce high-grade printing paper, drawing newspaper, offset paper and writing paper.

Semi-chemical pulping is similar to chemical mechanical methods in that the material is first chemically treated and then ground into pulp. However, the degree of chemical treatment is more severe than that of chemical mechanical pulp, and 25% to 50% of lignin and 30% to 40% of hemicellulose in the raw material are removed, and the intercellular substance is partially dissolved. The semi-chemical pulping yield is between 65% and 85%.

Wood Pulp Market Regional Analysis

North America dominated the Wood Pulp market in 2023. United States is one of the largest producer of wood pulp globally, owing to the presence of forests that provide raw material for the production of wood pulp. Also Canada has about a quarter of the world’s boreal forest and is among the largest paper and wood pulp market. This countries in the region produce a significant amount of raw material, satisfying domestic as well as international demand of wood pulp. The United States is the largest consumer of tissue paper, which propels the growth of wood pulp market in the region.

Asia Pacific is expected to show the fastest growth, with a 3.4% CAGR in the forecast period 2024- 2030. Population in the region and driving demand, because of urbanization fuelling the growth of wood pulp market in the region. China is one of the largest importer of the wood pulp in the region. Increasing domestic paper consumption and packaging needs for its booming export-oriented manufacturing industries are the major drivers of fibre demand in China.

Countries like India, Japan and South Korea also import huge amount of wood pulp to meet the demand of paper. Countries in the region are still developing countries, so they are not totally digitalized, which increases the demand for paper in the region. Growing businesses in the region require packaging material for import and export purpose, which drives the market of wood pulp. Countries like India and Japan are banning single use plastic, because of that peoples are using paper bags to replace plastic bags which is supporting the wood pulp market in the region.   

Wood Pulp Market Competitive Landscape

On 22 April, 2024 Albany International Korea, Inc., an affiliate of Albany International Corp, announced its plan to discontinue manufacturing at its operations in Chungju, South Korea, and to transfer production to other Albany International manufacturing facilities.

In April, 2024 Veritiv Corporation, a leading specialty distributor of value-added packaging, facility solutions and print products and solutions, announced that it has acquired substantially all the assets of Ameripac, LLC, and Ameripac Pennsylvania, LLC ("AmeriPac") a leading provider of turnkey contract packaging and fulfilment services with annual revenues of approximately $60 million.

In April, 2024 New investment German packaging maker Heinzel Group has announced that, following the integration of Steyrermühl operations the company acquired from UPM in Austria, it is nearing the completion of a major project at the facility.

Key Players in the Wood Pulp Market

1. Arctic Paper
2. Billerud
3. Canny tissue paper industry llc
4. International Paper Co.
5. Sappi Ltd
6. Nippon Paper Industries
7. Oji Paper Company
8. Stora Enso
9. West coast Paper Mills
10. Orient Paper & Industries Limited (OPIL)
11. JK Paper Co.
12. Gulf Paper Manufacturing Company
13. Hitachi Ltd
14. Koch Industries
15. Mercer International Inc.
16. Metropolic Paper Industries Llc
17. Nine Dragons Paper Holdings
18. Metsä Board
19. Nath Industries Ltd
20. Emami Paper Mills