COVERAGE NOTE: Proposed changes to NA export pulp and deinked pulp assessments – Consultation

Fastmarkets RISI is proposing to discontinue assessments of pulp delivered to Japan and South Korea, as well as deinked pulp delivered to the US East with effect from October 2020.

Specifically, the following price series would be discontinued in PPI Pulp & Paper Week, the Fastmarkets RISI portal and mobile app, as well as all data feeds:

• Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft, from Canada, CIF Japan (Price ID 488)
• Southern Bleached Softwood Kraft, from US, CIF Japan (Price ID 489)
• Northern and Southern Mixed Bleached Hardwood Kraft, from Canadian/US, CIF Japan (Price ID 490)
• Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft, from Canada, CIF South Korea (533)
• Deinked pulp (US air-dried and wet-lap), US East (Price ID 172)

Export volumes to Japan and South Korea are no longer as significant as they were when these assessments were launched, and the number of producers exporting to the region has dwindled. Liquidity in deinked pulp is very low. As a result, Fastmarkets RISI can no longer maintain robust assessments for these prices.

Fastmarkets RISI is inviting feedback on this proposal up until April 10^th, 2020. To submit comments, please email pricing.risi@fastmarkets.com, mentioning “NA pulp assessments” in the subject line of the email.

For more information on Fastmarkets RISI’s methodology for global pulp markets, please see here.

For other Fastmarkets RISI coverage notes please see here.