Wood Pulp

Growth in wood pulp consumption has been slower than growth in paper & board production over the last decades (Figure 10). Since the late 1980s, consumption of both wood and other fibre pulp have levelled off, while the growth of paper & board production remained strong. Recovered paper has become an important raw material for paper manufacture world-wide, accounting for 33% of the fibre input both in developed and developing countries and totalling 86 million metric tons in 1991. In that year, countries in the Asia-Pacific region consumed more than 31 million, and of that, over 6.2 million were imports (Table 55).

Figure 10. Consumption of wood pulp and other fibre pulp versus production of paper & board in the Asia Pacific region.

The region's total wood pulp consumption increased from 6.3 million metric tons per year in 1962 to 24.5 in 1992, with the fastest growth during the 1980s (Table 56). Japan has been the leading consumer of wood pulp (14.3 million metric tons in 1992), followed by China (3.4 million), the Republic of Korea (1.8 million), and Indonesia, Australia and India (1.2 million metric tons each). China, the Republic of Korea, Indonesia and India registered the fastest growth during the 1980s.

Table 55. Recovered paper consumption and imports in the Asia-Pacific region, in thousand metric tons, 1991.

Country	Consumption	Imports
Australia	757
China	9019	2503
India	662	229
Indonesia	738	550
Japan	15516	850
Korea, Rep.	3484	1543
Malaysia	50
New Zealand	77
Pakistan	82
Philippines Sri Lanka	286 20	240
Thailand	542	293
Viet Nam	15
Asia-Pacific	31248	6208

Table 56. Consumption of wood pulp, in thousand metric tons, 1962-1992.

Country	1962	1972	1982	1992
Australia	507	761	996	1205
Bangladesh	30	47	61	108
Bhutan
Cambodia	0	0	0	0
China	855	1009	1746	3377
Fiji
French Polynesia
Hong Kong	0	0	1	7
India	141	266	620	1204
Indonesia	1	1	212	1234
Japan	4387	10187	10292	14273
Korea Dem People's Rep	0	10	56	56
Korea Rep	74	390	670	1770
Laos
Macau
Malaysia	0	2	4	35
Myanmar
Nepal
New Caledonia
New Zealand	252	499	733	720
Pakistan	26	9	12	31
Papua New Guinea
Philippines	39	87	162	191
Samoa
Singapore	0	1	3	11
Solomon Islands
Sri Lanka	2	6	4	5
Thailand	2	66	90	190
Tonga
Vanuatu
Viet Nam	6	8	25	53
Asia Pacific	6322	13349	15687	24470
World	63599	107354	119798	145305
Share	10%	12%	13%	17%

The production of wood pulp in the Asia Pacific expanded sharply in response to the rise in consumption during the last decade (Table 57). While the production was virtually static during the 1970s, it increased more than 40% between 1982 and 1992, from 12 to 18 million metric tons. However, given the similar growth in production elsewhere in the world, the region's world share has not changed much since 1970. The largest producers in 1992 were Japan (11.2 million metric tons), China (2.2 million), New Zealand, India and Australia with about 1 million metric tons each.

Table 57. Production of wood pulp, in thousand metric tons, 1962-1992.

Country	1962	1972	1982	1992
Australia	380	527	753	980
Bangladesh	30	23	53	96
Bhutan
Cambodia
China	766	800	1330	2193
Fiji
French Polynesia
Hong Kong
India	20	215	553	1049
Indonesia	0	1	55	751
Japan	4167	9431	8617	11194
Korea Dem People's Rep	0	10	56	56
Korea Rep	19	84	235	322
Laos
Macau
Malaysia
Myanmar
Nepal
New Caledonia
New Zealand	308	600	1134	1288
Pakistan	4	0	0	0
Papua New Guinea
Philippines	10	53	126	151
Samoa
Singapore
Solomon Islands
Sri Lanka	0	0	0	4
Thailand
Tonga
Vanuatu
Viet Nam	0	8	25	53
Asia Pacific	5704	11752	12937	18137
World	63679	107449	119576	153739
Share	9%	11%	11%	12%

Figure 11 shows the regional production from 1961 to 1992, along with production of other fibre pulp and production of paper & board. Growth of production had been slower than that of consumption (Figure 10), due mainly to the lack of cheap sources of fibre. In 1992, wood pulp production accounted for about 63% of total pulp production in the region, and less than one-third of the total fibre input.

Total imports have increased steadily over the last decades, from 696 thousand metric tons in 1962 to 7.2 million in 1992 (Table 58). Together with recovered paper imports accounted for an important share of fibre input, as shown in Figures 10 and 11. By 1992, imports from other regions represented more than 22% of the consumption. The main suppliers in 1992 were the United States with 2.6 million metric tons, Canada with 2.2 million, Chile with 367 thousand metric tons, and the European Union with 342 thousand (Table 59).

Figure 11. Production of wood pulp, other fibre pulp, and paper & board in the Asia Pacific region, 1961-1992.

The largest importers in 1992 were Japan (3.1 million metric tons), the Republic of Korea (1.5 million), and China (1.3 million). Imports in those three countries accounted for, respectively, 22%, 82% and 37% of their domestic consumption. Imports have also grown quickly and taken large shares of consumption in Indonesia and Thailand in recent years.

There have been very little exports from countries in the region, a total of only 811 thousand metric tons or 3% of the world's (Table 60). Historically, New Zealand has been the largest exporter in the region: 592 thousand metric tons in 1992, 73% of the region's total. Almost all of New Zealand's exports went to countries within the region.

Japan has been a net importer of pulp for decades. In terms of wood pulp consumed, its self-sufficiency rate declined from 95% in 1962 to 78% in 1992. Underlying this decline is the well-known shortage of domestic pulpwood and an impending decline in by-product chips.

Table 58. Imports of wood pulp, in thousand metric tons, 1962-1992.

Country	1962	1972	1982	1992
Australia	127	234	247	226
Bangladesh	0	24	8	12
Bhutan
Cambodia	0	0	0	0
China	89	263	484	1258
Fiji
French Polynesia
Hong Kong	0	0	1	15
India	121	51	67	155
Indonesia	1	0	157	576
Japan	227	803	1743	3084
Korea Dem People's Rep
Korea Rep	55	306	435	1448
Laos
Macau
Malaysia	0	2	4	35
Myanmar
Nepal
New Caledonia
New Zealand	15	13	16	24
Pakistan	22	9	12	31
Papua New Guinea
Philippines	29	34	38	40
Samoa
Singapore	0	2	3	24
Solomon Islands
Sri Lanka	2	6	4	1
Thailand	2	66	90	215
Tonga
Vanuatu
Viet Nam	6	0	0	0
Asia Pacific	696	1813	3309	7144
World	10116	16361	18212	26886
Share	7%	11%	18%	27%

Table 59. Direction of trade in wood pulp, in thousand metric tons, 1992.

Table 60. Exports of wood pulp, in thousand metric tons, 1962-1992.

Country	1962	1972	1982	1992
Australia	0	0	4	1
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Cambodia
China	0	54	68	74
Fiji
French Polynesia
Hong Kong	0	0	0	8
India
Indonesia	0	0	0	93
Japan	7	47	68	5
Korea Dem People's Rep
Korea Rep
Laos
Macau
Malaysia
Myanmar
Nepal
New Caledonia
New Zealand	71	114	417	592
Pakistan
Papua New Guinea
Philippines	0	0	2	0
Samoa
Singapore	0	1	0	13
Solomon Islands
Sri Lanka
Thailand	0	0	0	25
Tonga
Vanuatu
Viet Nam
Asia Pacific	78	216	559	811
World	10196	16456	17990	27622
Share	1%	1%	3%	3%