PAPER: Ukraine war impacting paper manufacturing

Sanctions imposed on Russia from its murderous invasion of Ukraine are adding to supply woes, with Russian paper now likely to be banned from being used by newspaper and commercial publishers, and energy prices soaring.

Already Finnish media companies are warning government they have only enough stock to print for one more month, with the war compounding the strike that has halted production at UPM Kymenne. European publishers facing non-supply from the strike-bound UPM have been turning to Russian paper, that is now likely to stop.

In addition sanctions on Russian gas and oil are sending energy costs for European manufacturers skyrocketing. Some papermakers are now putting significant surcharges on their paper, up to €125 a tonne, to cater for the soaring energy costs. Norske Skog has stopped production altogether at its Bruck mill in Austria, saying its current energy prices make manufacturing unsustainable. Its PM3 line at the milln makes newsprint, with annual capacity of 122,000tpa, while the PM4 machine manufactures LWC, with capacity of 260,000tpa.

Issuing dire warnings, international graphic arts association Intergraf says the war in the Ukraine will have impacts on energy prices, but also on the supply of wood and pulp for European paper makers. It says this will further tighten supplies in the middle to long term, which it says are “a major concern for the future of our industry”, and, it says, constitutes “a threat not only to the graphic industry but endangers its support function for all sectors.” .

Intergraf says, “the graphic industry experiences a paper supply shortage it has never experienced before,” and warns of “severe repercussions in the supply of print products.”

Labels association Finat has warned of “far reaching consequences for the global economy” from the lack of labelstock manufacturing, saying it would directly impact the ability of product to get into supermarket shelves.