Brazilian Pulp Exports to China Soar as Hygiene and Sustainable Packaging Demand Reshapes Fiber Supply

China's steadily rising per capita GDP, combined with changing consumption and lifestyle patterns among the new generation, has helped push Brazilian pulp exports to China higher. In the first 10 months of this year, Brazil exported 5.7 million tonnes of cellulose to China, compared with only 1.8 million tonnes in the same period of 2012.

Demand for hygiene care products climbs in China

A November 17 report from Brazilian website UOL noted that one factor behind higher pulp consumption is changing hygiene practices, with growing use of diapers, sanitary napkins, and two-ply or multi-ply toilet paper. “China's new generation expects more from personal care products and consumes a large volume of Westernized goods,” said Paulo Chen, 63. Born in Pingtung in southern Taiwan, he has lived in Recife for 50 years.

World Bank data show China's per capita GDP has expanded exponentially since 2000, climbing from USD 959 in 2000 to USD 10,500 in 2020. “This growth has driven a range of Chinese demand for Brazilian products, mainly in agriculture and mining,” said Daniel Sasson, an agricultural trade analyst at Itaú BBA.

According to Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa), 36.33% of Brazil's agricultural exports went to China in 2021. Forestry products—cellulose, paper and rubber—rank as Brazil's third-largest agricultural export after soybeans and meat, and China is their largest buyer as well. For cellulose alone, 40.8% of Brazil's exports in October this year were shipped to China. China uses this cellulose to make a variety of hygiene items, from sanitary napkins to wet wipes and disposable diapers.

Sustainability points to the future

Daniel Sasson expects demand for Brazilian cellulose to keep growing in the coming years, for toilet paper and other products such as packaging paper that replaces plastic, as the world seeks sustainable materials. He also predicts weaker demand for printing paper, because the COVID-19 pandemic led many people to stop printing and digitalization accelerated the use of electronic documents.

Data from the Brazilian Tree Industry Association (Iba) show Brazil has 9 million hectares of planted forest area, plus another 5.9 million hectares for permanent preservation areas, legal reserves and private natural heritage reserves. Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture says forest product output is also speeding up: production rose from 14.2 million tonnes in 2012 to 27 million tonnes in 2020, an increase of 190%. Between 2012 and 2020, Brazil produced 211 million tonnes of forest products, of which 24.8% (52.3 million tonnes) was bought by China.

Wilson Andrade, executive chairman of the Bahia Association of Forest Product Enterprises (Abaf), observed that demand for forest products is rising not only in China but also in Europe and the United States, due to a decline in petroleum-based products such as plastics. “The forestry sector produces more than 5,000 different products. The pandemic accelerated the use of some, such as paper packaging in food delivery services,” he said.

Andrade also highlighted the sustainability focus of the forest product value chain. According to the Brazilian Tree Industry Association, the sector voluntarily adopts certification schemes to ensure traceability and responsible origin, and holds multiple international certifications, including Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification.

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-378723.html