Contrary to decade’s positive progress, China’s printing and writing paper sector, including newsprint, turned negative in 2018. For the first time, full year production and consumption of both coated and uncoated paper reduced in 2018, joining the declines in newsprint production and consumption that had begun since 2012.

Reports from China Paper Association (CPA) said there were only 4 consistent newsprint producers in China by 2018 with combined capacity below 2 million mtpy. Under shrinking demand, rising fiber cost and other challenges, both production and consumption shrank further from 2017.
Falling demand and rising fiber cost also lowered the country’s production and consumption of uncoated printing and writing paper in 2018. And exports to overseas markets dipped about -1% to barely 1 million metric tons too.
Coated printing and writing paper suffered its most serious setbacks from 2012, under tumbling demand at home and abroad. The -11% cuts in production in 2018 was not enough to stop decreases in exports, which tumbled -18% to only 1 million metric tons. The -8% reduction in consumption from 2017 also resulted in a gloomy prospect for 2019, market analysts said.