
Among continents, suppliers in Europe sold the highest dollar worth of exported newsprint during 2019 with shipments valued at $2.6 billion or well over half (58.2%) of the global total. In second place were North American exporters at 33.8% while 5.4% of worldwide newsprint shipments originated from Asia. Smaller percentages came from Oceania (1.5%) mostly Australia, Latin America (0.9%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, and Africa (0.3%).
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 4801 for newsprint in rolls or sheets.
Top Newsprint Exports by Country
Top 15
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of newsprint during 2019.
- Canada: US$1.4 billion (31.1% of exported newsprint)
- Russia: $554 million (12.3%)
- Sweden: $406 million (9%)
- France: $332.6 million (7.4%)
- Germany: $258.9 million (5.7%)
- Finland: $199.5 million (4.4%)
- United Kingdom: $180.7 million (4%)
- Belgium: $159.5 million (3.5%)
- Switzerland: $155.1 million (3.4%)
- Austria: $150.5 million (3.3%)
- United States: $120 million (2.7%)
- South Korea: $111.4 million (2.5%)
- Spain: $90.4 million (2%)
- Slovenia: $79.1 million (1.8%)
- Australia: $65.4 million (1.5%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 94.6% of globally exported newsprint in 2019.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of newsprint since 2015 were: Australia (up 178.8%), United Kingdom (up 60.1%), Russia (up 27%) and France (up 24.3%).
Those countries that posted declines in their international sales of newsprint were led by: South Korea (down -69.2%), United States (down -52.6%), Spain (down -50.8%), Germany (down -29.4%) and Switzerland (down -23.7%).
Advantages
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for newsprint during 2019. 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$1.4 billion (net export surplus down -22.8% since 2015)
- Russia: $553.3 million (up 27.1%)
- Sweden: $384.6 million (down -6.9%)
- France: $194 million (up 101.7%)
- Finland: $186.1 million (up 2.8%)
- South Korea: $111.4 million (down -69.2%)
- Switzerland: $105.6 million (down -36.6%)
- Austria: $100.8 million (up 1.4%)
- Belgium: $81.4 million (down -1%)
- Slovenia: $67.9 million (up 2%)
- Australia: $47.3 million (reversing a -$12.5 million deficit)
- Chile: $25.5 million (down -7.4%)
- United Arab Emirates: $17.1 million (reversing a -$21.4 million deficit)
- Indonesia: $12.2 million (down -80.8%)
- Malaysia: $9.7 million (up 23.5%)
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.
Opportunities
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for newsprint during 2019. 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.
- India: -US$778.3 million (net export deficit down -1.5% since 2015)
- United States: -$685.8 million (down -21.8%)
- Italy: -$303.7 million (up 1.1%)
- China: -$231.9 million (up 2421%)
- Netherlands: -$219.2 million (up 97.7%)
- Germany: -$162.2 million (up 168.5%)
- United Kingdom: -$87 million (down -59.4%)
- Poland: -$83 million (up 70.9%)
- Turkey: -$76.2 million (down -55.7%)
- Mexico: -$73.5 million (down -27.9%)
- Hong Kong: -$58.3 million (down -39.8%)
- Taiwan: -$49.1 million (down -46.4%)
- Egypt: -$42.8 million (down -17.3%)
- Czech Republic: -$41.5 million (down -24.9%)
- Denmark: -$39.2 million (down -28%)
India incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of newsprint. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights India’s competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for newsprint-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Companies
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 and Sawn Wood Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier showroom for newsprint paper. Accessed on June 8, 2020
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on June 8, 2020
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 8, 2020
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 8, 2020
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 8, 2020
Wikipedia, Category:Pulp and paper companies by country. Accessed on June 8, 2020
Wikipedia, Newsprint. Accessed on June 8, 2020