That dollar amount results from a 5.5% upturn for all newsprint shippers over the 5-year period starting in 2020 when newsprint exports were worth $2.94 billion.
Year over year, the overall value of globally exported newsprint shrank by -14.3% compared to $3.62 billion starting from 2023.
The top 5 highest-selling exporters of newsprint are Canada, Russia, Germany, France and Belgium. Combined, that quintet of major suppliers generated well over two-thirds (70.1%) of total newsprint exported during 2024.
Among continents, suppliers in Europe sold the highest dollar worth of exported newsprint during 2024 with shipments valued at $1.72 billion or well over half (55.4%) of the global total. In second place were exporters located at 38.2% while another 3.9% of worldwide newsprint shipments originated from providers in Asia.
Tinier percentages came from Oceania (1.3%) mostly Australia, Latin America (0.7%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, and Africa (0.5%).
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 4801 for newsprint in rolls or sheets.
Top Newsprint Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of newsprint during 2024.
- Canada: US$1.1 billion (36% of exported newsprint)
- Russia: $341.1 million (11%)
- Germany: $287.1 million (9.3%)
- France: $233.2 million (7.5%)
- Belgium: $198.4 million (6.4%)
- United Kingdom: $171.8 million (5.5%)
- Switzerland: $159.9 million (5.2%)
- Sweden: $146.6 million (4.7%)
- Spain: $73.2 million (2.4%)
- United States: $66.3 million (2.1%)
- South Korea: $46.8 million (1.5%)
- Australia: $41 million (1.3%)
- Slovenia: $34.7 million (1.1%)
- Finland: $33.8 million (1.1%)
- Malaysia: $18.3 million (0.6%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 95.7% of globally exported newsprint in 2024.
Among the top exporters, the growth exporters of newsprint since 2023 were: Malaysia (up 69.2%), United States of America (up 35.5%), Australia (up 7.4%) and Switzerland (up 0.1%).
Listed buyer countries that posted annual declines in their international sales of newsprint were led by: South Korea (down -43.6% from 2023), Finland (down -27.3%), Spain (down -22%), Slovenia (down -20.1%) and the United Kingdom (down -19.4%).
Countries Generating Best Trade Surpluses from Newsprint
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for newsprint during 2024. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported newsprint and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Canada: US$1.1 billion (net export surplus down -11.5% since 2023)
- Russia: $341.1 million (down -19.3%)
- Belgium: $172.8 million (down -4.6%)
- Switzerland: $122.1 million (up 12.7%)
- Sweden: $84.9 million (down -22.2%)
- South Korea: $46.7 million (down -43.8%)
- France: $28.2 million (up 17.7%)
- Slovenia: $27.6 million (down -21.2%)
- Australia: $24.7 million (up 168%)
- Finland: $8.3 million (down -52.1%)
- Brazil: $5.6 million (down -68.6%)
- Indonesia: $4.6 million (down -71.9%)
- Belarus: $3.4 million (down -75.7%)
- Malaysia: $2.9 million (reversing a -$164,000 deficit)
- Spain: $2.3 million (down -91.2%)
Canada generated the highest surplus in the international trade of newsprint. Albeit facing dwindling worldwide demand, this positive cashflow confirms Canada’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Facing Worst Trade Deficits from Newsprint
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for newsprint during 2024. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported newsprint purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$414.1 million (net export deficit down -20% since 2023)
- India: -$413.3 million (down -11.6%)
- Italy: -$227.9 million (down -11%)
- mainland China: -$196.3 million (down -21.6%)
- Netherlands: -$102 million (down -38.1%)
- Poland: -$67.9 million (up 0.8%)
- Mexico: -$61.5 million (down -29.5%)
- Germany: -$60.5 million (up 13%)
- Austria: -$52.9 million (up 118.5%)
- Türkiye: -$43.4 million (down -22.5%)
- Egypt: -$38.5 million (down -21.2%)
- Czech Republic: -$36 million (down -5.4%)
- Hungary: -$34.9 million (up 8.4%)
- United Kingdom: -$22.4 million (down -61.5%)
- Taiwan: -$20.2 million (down -17.5%)
The United States of America incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of newsprint. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights America’s competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for newsprint-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Newsprint Exporting Companies
Below are global newsprint-processing conglomerates that represent established players engaged in the international trade of pulp and paper including newsprint. The home country for each business is shown within parenthesis.
- Arjo Wiggins (France)
- Domtar (Canada)
- OAO Kondopoga (Russia)
- Svenska Cellulosa AB (Sweden)
- Wepa Hygieneprodukte GmbH (Germany)
According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following suppliers are also examples of newsprint-trading exporters. Again, the geographic location home to each headquarters is shown within parentheses.
- Guangzhou Bmpaper Co, Ltd (China)
- Richer Paper Co, Ltd (Hong Kong)
- Sly Trading Ltd (United Kingdom)
- Star Hoku LLC (United States)
- Wan Ti Enterprise Co, Ltd (Taiwan)
See also Paper Exports by Country, Paper Imports by Country, Sawn Wood Exports by Country and Top Stainless Steel Exporters by Country Plus Average Prices
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier showroom for newsprint paper. Accessed on February 12, 2026
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on February 12, 2026
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on February 12, 2026
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on February 12, 2026
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on February 12, 2026
Wikipedia, Category:Pulp and paper companies by country. Accessed on February 12, 2026
Wikipedia, Newsprint. Accessed on February 12, 2026