Entering 2022, the prices of household goods, food ingredients and food are all rising, and now even toilet paper can not escape the fate of price increases?
The world’s largest pulp producer Suzano SA believes that there is a possibility of supply shortages, which may lead to price increases for essential products such as tissue paper and toilet paper.
Walter Schalka, Chief Executive Officer of Suzano SA, said in a media interview on May 6 that Russia is an important source of wood for Europe and that the wood trade between Russia and Europe has been completely blocked due to the heating up of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Even before the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the market for raw pulp was already quite tight. Today, European pulp producers, especially those located in Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, Sweden), will have limited production capacity. Walter Schalka notes.
“Pulp stocks have been dwindling and moving toward supply disruptions. Interruptions are likely to happen.”
In addition, the problem of insufficient container capacity is most serious in Brazil, as a large amount of sugar, soybeans and coffee in the country are waiting to be exported, leading to a continuous increase in shipping prices, and Suzano SA is based in Brazil.
After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, many food and energy prices soared, which not only increased the cost of transporting pulp in Brazil, food was also competing to cash in on the pulp’s shipping capacity. In such a situation, the price of wrapping paper, diapers and toilet paper is feared to rise and cause a new round of blow to consumers.
Meanwhile, demand for pulp in Latin America is exploding, but producers in the region are running out of room to take new orders and mills are already operating at full capacity, says Walter Schalka, adding that demand for Suzano has also long outstripped the company’s capacity.
The rising price of paper products is also about the lives of ordinary people, Walter Schalka added, adding that tissue paper is a necessity of life and even if the price rises, it will not affect the market demand for it.
