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For several years European pulp and paper industry remains in deep crisis characterized by rising production costs at a slack demand market.
Rapidly increasing energy prices mean more expensive raw materials and chemicals for paper production. After last summer’s strikes at Finnish paper mills trade unions succeeded in signing favourable labour contracts having brought additional expenses for producers.
Profitability of European paper suppliers is only just above positive level. World pulp and paper industry became involved in mass globalization, including paper producers and sales companies.
Beginning from the middle of 2005, European paper companies announced several simultaneous price increases for paper and board, including the ones in March-April.
Until now, prices at Russian market remained unchanged, but paper merchants are no longer able to deter the process at their own expense. According to the press-release of Russian Paper Merchants Association, paper prices are to rise in the nearest future or else infrastructure and service of paper traders will regress rapidly, which means technological and business instability for Russian print houses.
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