Year over year, the overall value of globally exported newsprint increased by 7.5% compared to $2.94 billion during 2020.
The top 5 most lucrative exporters of newsprint are Canada, Russia, Germany, France, and Sweden. Combined, that quintet of major suppliers accounted for over two-thirds (68%) of total newsprint exported during 2021.
Among continents, suppliers in Europe sold the highest dollar worth of exported newsprint during 2021 with shipments valued at $1.84 billion or approaching three-fifths (58.3%) of the global total. In second place were North American exporters at 36.4% while another 3.9% of worldwide newsprint shipments originated from Asia.
Tinier percentages came from Oceania (0.7%) mainly Australia, Latin America (0.42%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, and Africa (0.37%).
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 2021.
- Canada: US$1.1 billion (34.2% of exported newsprint)
- Russia: $402.4 million (12.7%)
- Germany: $257.7 million (8.2%)
- France: $215.2 million (6.8%)
- Sweden: $192.5 million (6.1%)
- United Kingdom: $166.8 million (5.3%)
- Belgium: $144.3 million (4.6%)
- Switzerland: $133.1 million (4.2%)
- Austria: $128.9 million (4.1%)
- Spain: $83.3 million (2.6%)
- United States: $68.8 million (2.2%)
- South Korea: $48.3 million (1.5%)
- Finland: $44.1 million (1.4%)
- China: $24.5 million (0.8%)
- Netherlands: $23.3 million (0.7%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 95.4% of globally exported newsprint in 2021.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of newsprint since 2020 were: mainland China (up 192%), Netherlands (up 108.6%), United States of America (up 86.1%), and Germany (up 28.3%).
A trio of top suppliers posted declines in their international sales of newsprint, namely Finland (down -44%), Sweden (down -30.5%), and South Korea (down -1.1%).
Countries Generating Best Trade Surpluses from Newsprint
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for newsprint during 2021. 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 up 12.8% since 2020)
- Russia: $401.2 million (up 14%)
- Sweden: $148.6 million (down -41%)
- France: $108.6 million (up 3%)
- Switzerland: $101.5 million (up 47.8%)
- Austria: $88.9 million (up 2.5%)
- Belgium: $80.9 million (down -2.4%)
- South Korea: $48.3 million (down -1.1%)
- Finland: $27.7 million (down -56.9%)
- Spain: $23.6 million (up 181.3%)
- United Kingdom: $16.3 million (up 316.6%)
- Belarus: $11.2 million (up 40.8%)
- United Arab Emirates: $10.4 million (up 78.1%)
- Slovenia: $6.4 million (down -85.2%)
- Indonesia: $6 million (up 15.7%)
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 2021. 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$552.3 million (net export deficit up 4.5% since 2020)
- China: -$334.9 million (up 29.2%)
- India: -$304.3 million (down -23.1%)
- Italy: -$192.7 million (up 2.1%)
- Netherlands: -$103.8 million (down -17.1%)
- Poland: -$92.6 million (up 14.2%)
- Mexico: -$59 million (up 35.4%)
- Turkey: -$56.4 million (up 13.3%)
- Germany: -$44.3 million (down -49.3%)
- Egypt: -$40.5 million (down -3.2%)
- Hungary: -$31.1 million (up 8.9%)
- Czech Republic: -$30.9 million (up 2.7%)
- Pakistan: -$28.4 million (up 1.4%)
- Taiwan: -$26.3 million (down -13.9%)
- Hong Kong: -$25.9 million (up 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 October 5, 2022
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on October 5, 2022
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 5, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 5, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 5, 2022
Wikipedia, Category:Pulp and paper companies by country. Accessed on October 5, 2022
Wikipedia, Newsprint. Accessed on October 5, 2022
