Global Mixed Paper Trade Seen Hit by Restrictions

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster):  The tightening of quality standards by the Indian authorities on imported mixed paper has severely impacted the U.S. exports. Traditionally, India has been a major destination of U.S. mixed paper exports.

Since China banned imports citing environmental concerns, India has been a major outlet for world’s mixed paper. However, following high contamination level in imported loads into the country, the Indian administration decided to toughen the standards by restricting the permitted contamination level to 1% and to conduct more rigorous inspections of containers. Accordingly, at least five bales from every container will be opened for inspection.

ALSO READ: ISRI Issues Alert on Indonesia's Restrictions on Recovered Fiber Imports

The domestic mills in India have reduced intake of mixed paper from other countries, as there is no surety of customs clearance. The 1% contamination threshold implies that only a few suppliers with high-quality sorting facilities could export mixed paper into India. The impact is directly visible by comparing the market share of India in the U.S. mixed paper exports in 2018 and 2019. Over the year, the market share has dropped from 43% to 41%.

The new policy has disrupted flow of mixed paper from other parts of the world. For instance, it is feared to have catastrophic impact on U.K, for which India serves as the second largest export market for recovered packaging after China.