(www.chinapaperonline.com) Following the global trend, China’s newsprint production and consumption have been on a negative path. By 2018, production reduced to only 1.9 million m/t, falling -19.1% from the previous year. Consumption also shrank -11.2% to 2.37 million m/t.

Gone were the good old days in 2009 when production peaked at 4.8 million m/t from 15 mainstream producers running as many as 100 machines, including 4 of the 5 world’s existing, state-of-the-art jumbo machines. By 2018, the number of consistent newsprint producers in China fell to 3, with only about 5 machines in production. In a decade, total output lost 60.4%!
The downturn of the industry was undoubtedly driven by shrinking demand. In a 10-year period from 2009 to 2018, China’s newsprint consumption tumbled -48.6% from its peak at 4.61 million m/t to 2.37 million m/t as the country’s newspaper publication declined -22.6% at the same time.

More market analysts agree, however, that China’s newsprint production and consumption will remain relatively steady without dramatic changes for some time, after the restructure of the newspaper publication business where many daily life and literary newspapers have either ceased or significantly shrink publication, leaving those government owned or sponsored newspapers, especially national newspapers such as the People’s Daily who have secured subscription, in consistent operation.