Chinese consumption of paper and paperboard declined in 2022 for the first time in four years, as the country’s stringent coronavirus measures slowed the economy, reports Nikkei Asia. A disappointingly mild rebound this year has sent ripples across other parts of Asia.
“The actual state of consumption could be even worse than what’s reported, because Chinese data doesn’t take factors such as inventories that are held by distributors into account,” one industry source in Japan said.
Consumption totaled 124.03 million tonnes in 2022, down 1.9%, trade group China Paper Association reports. Uncoated paper, a popular choice for books, fell 6.4% to 16.78 million tonnes for the first decrease in three years. Circulation of printed materials declined as Chinese cities went under lockdown.
