Mercer announces unchanged NBSK pulp prices for Asia/China, effective immediately, describing China list price as US$700/tonne

Diane Keaton

LOS ANGELES , May 14, 2013 (Industry Intelligence Inc.) – Northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp producer Mercer International Inc. today announced unchanged prices for Asia and China, effective immediately and until further notice, the company said.

It said the list price in China will be US$700/tonne (commodity grade).

Mercer and some other NBSK producers had announced a $710/tonne price for China, effective March 1, and some other producers were said to be at $700/tonne.

Sources have said that the overall effective gross price of commodity grade NBSK in April and perhaps in March was closer to $700/tonne than $710/tonne, and they said the net price of imported pulp in both March and April was $680/tonne.

Mercer is the first or one of the first NBSK producers to make a formal announcement regarding current pricing in Asia/China.

For Europe, Mercer earlier slated a May 1 price of $870/tonne after Södra Cell AB and Stora Enso Oyj separately announced $890/tonne; Metsa Fibre Oy then announced the $870/tonne price.

NBSK producers have kept their May price in North America unchanged from April, when it was listed as $930/tonne, up $30/tonne from March.

The Vancouver, British Columbia-based Mercer produces NBSK exclusively and has a total capacity of approximately 1.5 million tonnes/year at mills located near Castlegar, British Columbia (the Celgar mill), near Stendal, Germany, and near Blankenstein, Germany.

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