Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of newsprint during 2020.

1. Canada: US$962.3 million (32.6% of exported newsprint)
2. Russia: $356 million (12.1%)
3. Sweden: $278.2 million (9.4%)
4. Germany: $200.9 million (6.8%)
5. France: $198.9 million (6.7%)
6. United Kingdom: $144.3 million (4.9%)
7. Belgium: $131.7 million (4.5%)
8. Austria: $122.6 million (4.2%)
9. Switzerland: $111 million (3.8%)
10. Finland: $78.8 million (2.7%)
11. Spain: $72.8 million (2.5%)
12. Slovenia: $53 million (1.8%)
13. South Korea: $48.8 million (1.7%)
14. United States: $37 million (1.3%)
15. Australia: $17.8 million (0.6%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 95.4% of globally exported newsprint in 2020.

Among the top exporters, the severest declines since 2019 belong to: Australia (up -72.8%), United States (up -69.1%), South Korea (up -56.1%) and Finland (up -40.8%).

Those countries that posted the most modest drops in their international sales of newsprint were led by: Austria (down -16.9%), Spain (down -17.9%), United Kingdom (down -20.2%), Germany (down -22.4%) and Switzerland (down -28.4%).

The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for newsprint during 2020. 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.

1. Canada: US$947.9 million (net export surplus down -31.4% since 2019)
2. Russia: $351.9 million (down -36.4%)
3. Sweden: $252.9 million (down -34.3%)
4. France: $105.4 million (down -46.6%)
5. Austria: $86.7 million (down -12.3%)
6. Belgium: $82.9 million (down -29.6%)
7. Switzerland: $68.7 million (down -35%)
8. Finland: $64.4 million (down -46.3%)
9. South Korea: $48.8 million (down -56.2%)
10. Slovenia: $43 million (down -34.1%)
11. United Arab Emirates: $13.9 million (reversing a -$13.7 million deficit)
12. Chile: $13.2 million (down -48.5%)
13. Spain: $8.4 million (reversing a – $3.7 million deficit)
14. Belarus: $8 million (down -5.5%)
15. Indonesia: $5.2 million (down -80%)

Canada generated the highest surplus in the international trade of newsprint. Albeit waning, this positive cashflow confirms Canada’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.

The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for newsprint during 2020. 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.

1. United States: -US$528.5 million (net export deficit down -22.9% since 2019)
2. India: -$395.7 million (down -48.3%)
3. China: -$259.2 million (up 11.8%)
4. Italy: -$193.6 million (down -32.6%)
5. Netherlands: -$131.2 million (down -24.7%)
6. Germany: -$86.3 million (down -47.7%)
7. Poland: -$81.1 million (down -2.3%)
8. Turkey: -$49.8 million (down -30.0%)
9. Egypt: -$41.9 million (down -45.5%)
10. Mexico: -$40.7 million (down -46.0%)
11. Australia: -$30.8 million (reversing a $47.3 million surplus)
12. Taiwan: -$30.5 million (down -37.9%)
13. Czech Republic: -$30.1 million (down -27.4%)
14. Denmark: -$28.7 million (down -26.7%)
15. Hungary: -$28.5 million (down -25.4%)

Overtaking India in 2020, 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)