MethodologyContact usSupportLogin
Key takeaways:
Argentina’s level of dependence on pulp and paper imports is growing, raising concerns among local industry participants while also attracting the interest of participants in neighboring countries, Fastmarkets has learned after conversations with sources and by consulting the country’s available import data.
An announcement by Celulosa Argentina, the country’s main market pulp supplier, regarding its filing for bankruptcy protection in early September has heightened market attention on how the balance between supply and domestic consumption may shift.
In recent months, Fastmarkets has heard reports that Argentine buyers of jumbo rolls have been visiting Brazil more frequently in search of new supply chains for tissue paper.
Import data from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec) shows that in the first half of 2025, imports of hardwood and jumbo rolls increased compared with the same period a year earlier, reflecting a more favorable exchange rate for imports and greater trade liberalization.
Hardwood imports, for example, rose by 17% between January and June 2025 compared with the same period the previous year, reaching 111,413 tonnes, with Uruguay standing out with a 24% increase in shipments, while Brazil sold 10% more to the country.
In tissue jumbo rolls, Argentina imported 8,058 tonnes in the first half of 2025, with Brazil accounting for 92% of supply to the country. This figure was above the 3,459 tonnes purchased in the same period last year. Some graphic paper and boxboard products also recorded an increase in shipments.
According to several sources consulted by Fastmarkets, the movement reflects an environment of greater trade openness and facilitated imports, part of the policy implemented by Argentine President Javier Milei’s government, which seeks to reduce the country’s inflation levels by encouraging the entry of imported products.
“At the moment, there is no dialogue between the government and the [pulp and paper] industry. The focus is on opening up the economy in order to reduce inflation. This exposes domestic mills, which already operate with older machinery, as they now have to compete with players equipped with the latest available technology and lower marginal costs,” a source in Argentina said.
Rafael Barisauskas, Fastmarkets’ Latin America senior economist, said that a more open market environment brings greater competition to all segments of the pulp and paper industry, including both raw material suppliers and finished product manufacturers. In this scenario, integrated players have greater competitive advantage, as they can choose between importing products or producing locally.
“Those who lack integration either upstream or downstream and only manufacture paper as an intermediate input for the industry will face difficulties, due to greater competition and exposure to strong rivals,” Barisauskas said.
According to a financial market analyst in Argentina, local investors do not find the pulp and paper sector attractive, given the higher level of obsolescence in machinery.
“Argentina has enormous potential to cultivate wood, but conditions have never been favorable for the sector due to macroeconomic instability,” the market analyst said, adding that the pulp and paper sector in the country is shrinking as other industries, such as natural gas and oil, move forward.
“We believe Argentina will become a major copper exporter in five years. With the market opening, it is natural that part of the less efficient industry will be replaced in favor of industries with greater growth potential,” they added.
For the establishment of a competitive pulp and paper industry in Argentina, Leandro Mora Alfonsin, an economist specialized in development and former executive director of the Federación Argentina Foresto-Industrial (FAIMA), said the country would need to provide greater stability in macroeconomic outlooks, as well as regulatory changes.
From a regulatory standpoint, Alfonsin highlighted that the country’s land law needs adjustments, in addition to improvements in the environmental licensing process.
“In 2005, Uruguay had 0% of its GDP in pulp and paper. Today, the sector in the country has three mills that export more than 3 billion dollars annually. Argentina could follow the same path,” Alfonsin said.
Sources from the Argentina’s domestic market also noted that better financing conditions could help attract larger investments.
In terms of climate conditions, Argentina has productivity levels of around 30 cubic meters per hectare per year for eucalyptus plantation, Fastmarkets timber analyst Marcos Madruga said. These levels are similar to those in neighboring countries, such as Brazil, which has around 33 cubic meters per ha per year.
In addition, Fastmarkets has learned that Argentina has the capacity to expand forestry to up to 3.7 million ha, mainly in the country’s Mesopotamia region. Today, the country has around 1.3 million ha allocated to commercial plantations.
Through 2021, the pulp and paper sector in Argentina employed around 34,000 people, but this number is at risk of gradually decreasing as local production in the country continues to decline.
Interested in more updates like this? Fastmarkets provides price data, market insights and forecasting for pulp and paper grades in Latin America and across the globe. Speak to one of our experts to find out more.