Economic growth in China has slowed since 2012 as the government reorients the economy from investment driven–toward consumption driven growth. Over this period, digital media usage has skyrocketed across the nation and driven down demand for both newsprint and printing & writing paper grades. These trends impact all graphic paper grades, but newsprint has been most severely affected due to loss of advertising and readership. Over the next ten years, RISI analysts predict that demand for newsprint in China will decline by 7.6 percent per year and printing & writing paper demand will decrease 0.7 percent per year, a total demand loss of 3.5 million tonnes. These and other findings were recently published in The Chinese Graphic Paper Market: Recent Trends and Future Prospects under Changing Circumstances, new study by RISI – leading information provider for the forest products industry.

“China’s younger generations are expected to rely solely on digital media for news in the future as older generations transition gradually. This has already affected graphic paper grades. Newspaper advertising reportedly dropped by 30 percent in the first half of this year. Our forecasts show a dismal outlook for demand and growth in graphic paper markets overall–as smartphones and other technology become more prevalent,” said Li Meng, Economist of Asian Graphic Paper at RISI and lead study author.

“Printing and writing paper grades will see declining demand over the forecast period. This decline is due to rising electronic information exchange in the business sector, increased use of e-readers, and tight competition for advertising dollars across media. The US has already strongly felt the impacts of these changes, and this will spread to China as technology is adopted globally,” continued Meng.

In The Chinese Graphic Paper Market, Meng and other analysts explore factors contributing to slowed growth in China’s shifting graphic paper market. The ten-year forecast projects how the end-use structure, global and regional macroeconomic developments, and new government policies will affect future graphic paper growth in China.

Included in the study:

• In-depth coverage of China’s graphic paper markets
• Analysis of recent developments in China’s graphic paper end-use markets
• 10-year forecasts on demand, supply and pricing trends
• Current cost positions of China’s major graphic paper producers
• Research on recent government policy and its potential impacts on future policy

For more information, request the prospectus at www.risi.com/chinagraphic

Companies included in the study:

Asia Pulp and Paper, Shandong Huatai Group, Shandong Chenming Group, China Paper Corporation, Shandong Sun Paper and UPM.

About RISI (www.risi.com)

RISI is the leading information provider for the global forest products industry. The company works with clients in the pulp and paper, packaging, wood products, timber, biomass, tissue and nonwovens industries to help them make better decisions.

Headquartered in Boston, MA, RISI operates additional offices throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia.