Ilim drops bleached softwood pulp price in China to US$670/tonne now through December, announces December bleached hardwood pulp price of US$550/tonne

Sandy Yang

LOS ANGELES , November 9, 2011 (Forestweb) – Russia’s Ilim Group has dropped its China price of bleached softwood kraft pulp (BSKP) by an additional US$40 per tonne, to $670/tonne CFR port (cost and freight), and it will keep this price through December, according to a knowledgeable source.

Ilim has also announced that its December bleached hardwood kraft pulp (BHKP) price is $550/tonne CFR port. In September the company had fixed a longer-term BHKP deal at $650/tonne; hence, it kept its price unchanged through November.

Ilim had been the first producer to announce its softwood and hardwood pulp plans for November, including an $80/tonne drop from $790/tonne to $710/tonne for BSKP. But that was followed by Chilean bleached radiata kraft pulp (BRKP) producer Celulosa Arauco y Constitución SA’s price decrease to $670/tonne. This turned out to be the level at which Chinese customers would buy, leading Ilim also to go to $670/tonne, the source said.

Ilim made its latest announcement on Nov. 7.

During London Pulp Week this week, industry sources have been reporting the China prices of various kinds of BSKP as being in the mid-600s/tonne. Sources vary as to how much volume is being taken.

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