Tembec announces Feb. 1 US$20/tonne hardwood high-yield pulp price hike for China

Diane Keaton

LOS ANGELES , February 4, 2013 (Industry Intelligence Inc.) – Tembec Inc. today announced a Feb. 1 US$20/tonne high-yield pulp list price increase for China.

Tembec produces hardwood high-yield pulp, also known as bleached chemi-thermomechanical pulp (BCTMP).

The announcement follows that of BCTMP producer Millar Western Forest Products Ltd., which on Feb. 1 announced a $20/tonne list price China hike for its hardwood and softwood grades, marking the first known February BCTMP price announcement.

Neither Millar Western nor Tembec stated their new list prices but last week an executive for a BCTMP producer said the January market in China was at $540/tonne for 80-bright hardwood BCTMP and $520-$530/tonne for 75-bright softwood BCTMP, with hardwood stable and softwood slipping a little bit.

Tembec, based in Montréal, has a high-yield pulp capacity of 805,000 tonnes/year, all hardwood, which it makes from aspen and maple species at three mills in Canada, including Temiscaming, Québec, (315,000 tonnes/year), Matane, Québec (250,000 tonnes/year), and Chetwynd, British Columbia (240,000 tonnes/year). But starting the first weekend of September 2012, it took an indefinite shut at the Chetwynd mill, citing softening market conditions.

Tembec also produces northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp (capacity of 255,000 tonnes/year) and specialty dissolving pulp (capacity of 310,000 tonnes/year).

On Feb. 1, Tembec announced that is increasing its Feb. 1 price of NBSK in China to $680/tonne. Several other NBSK producers have also announced this plan, with some describing it as a $20/tonne increase.

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