European pulp and paper output dips 1.5% in 2025 amid cost and trade pressures – Cepi

EUROPE – The European pulp and paper industry showed resilience in 2025 despite mounting cost pressures and geopolitical headwinds, according to preliminary statistics released by the Confederation of European Paper Industries (Cepi).

The report indicates that European paper and board production declined by 1.5% compared to 2024, reflecting the cumulative impact of rising energy and raw material costs, trade tensions and broader industrial slowdown over the past five years.

Graphic paper production saw the sharpest contraction, falling by 7.2% in 2025 as structural shifts in media consumption and digitalization continued to weigh on demand.

By contrast, packaging paper and board production edged up by 0.1%, while tissue declined marginally by 0.8% and other paper and board grades rose 0.4%.

Overall, production volumes remained 6.8% below the record levels registered in 2021.

Cepi noted that the European sector’s performance diverged from global competitors. Worldwide paper and board production remained broadly stable (-0.3%), but several major producers posted sharper declines.

The United States, Japan, Canada and South Korea recorded production drops ranging from -1.9% to -5.7%.

In contrast, Brazil, a key pulp exporter to Europe, posted slight growth of 0.1%, while China expanded output by 2.9%, continuing its upward trajectory since 2020.

Trade dynamics also shifted. The trade balance for paper and board in the Cepi area fell by 4.4% compared to 2024, although it remained largely positive.

Based on the latest 11-month data from Eurostat, EU exports declined by an estimated 2.2% in 2025, while imports rose 1.4%, highlighting intensifying competitive pressures.

Despite the downturn, Cepi underscored Europe’s leadership in circularity. Recent figures published by Deloitte show that Europe leads globally in biomass flows directed to biomaterials and circular material use rates, performance largely driven by the EU’s paper and board sector.

Amid ongoing EU–US trade tensions, Cepi has urged the European Parliament to ratify the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement (EMPA), which would eliminate tariffs on more than 90% of goods traded between the blocs, including 85% of pulp and 90% of EU paper and board exports to Mercosur countries, while embedding deforestation safeguards.

Looking ahead to decarbonization, Eurosac and Cepi Eurokraft have launched a joint initiative to develop a net-zero roadmap for paper sack and sack kraft paper industries, targeting climate neutrality by 2050.

The roadmap will align with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and Science-Based Targets initiative to quantify emissions across the value chain beyond product-level impacts.

Together, the findings portray a sector under pressure but strategically repositioning around trade diversification, circularity and long-term climate commitments.

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