A plague of dumping cases has been exposed running rife in the worldwide pulp and paper industry, according to the latest issue of industry bible Pulp & Paper Edge. The report will be a core issue discussed at the upcoming Appita Market Outlook Forum, to held in Melbourne on 28th, November.
A surge in cut-price Chinese copy paper into the Australian market is currently being investigated by the recently formed Anti-Dumping Commission, on the strength of Australian Paper's claims the cut-sheet imports are being sold at 20% below the market price, as reported by Print21. But local attention on dumping now takes its dubious place in a global trend observed by IndustryEdge, Australia's leading market data, analysis and intelligence firm and publisher of Pulp & Paper Edge.
According to Pulp & Paper Edge, a quick review of the pulp, paper and paperboard sector has turned up a marked increase in dumping cases globally, while the number of cases brought under Australian law has been relatively small. The review insists that despite the low level of local incidence, the reported cases have been "relatively large in impact, given the size of the market and the small number of players in the sector."
- Republished with kind permission IndustryEdge, Pulp & Paper Edge
The Anti-Dumping Commission was established as part of an ongoing attempt to streamline and strengthen Australia's framework for "cumbersome" anti-dumping laws. As well as initiating investigation into matters like the Chinese cut-sheet affair, the body is interested in the review and revision of arrangements where dumping duties may already apply. In October 2013, the Commission ruled to lift the dumping duty applied to greyback cartonboard exported from the Republic of Korea, in effect since 2010. Pulp & Paper Edge cites the grounds for the Commission's findings in this case are "simply that since Amcor ceased to take orders for its Petrie Mill in Queensland... there is no domestic competitor to imported products."
The upcoming Appita Market Outlook Forum will explore these troubling trends and offer insight into developments impacting supply in the industry. Other key issues addressed will be recycled content, third party certification and sustainability requirements, carbon neutral, and an exploration of what commercial buyers and government procurement specialists are demanding now and what they will require moving forward. Speakers will include IndustryEdge managing director Tim Wood, and Australian Paper CEO Jim Henneberry, with the forum to be chaired by IndustryEdge founder Robert Eastment.
For more information on the Appita Market Outlook Forum, visit www.appita.com.au, or contact Tim Woods on (03) 5229 2470, or tim@industryedge.com.au