West Fraser announces NBSK price increase for February orders; Asia price will be up US$10/tonne, new Europe price will be US$930/tonne

Diane Keaton

LOS ANGELES , January 23, 2014 (Industry Intelligence Inc.) – West Fraser Timber Co. today announced Feb. 1 northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp price increases for Europe and Asia for February orders.

Its new list price for Europe will be US$930/tonne and it is raising its pricing in Asia $10/tonne, the company said. It did not provide further details.

This is the second NBSK $930/tonne list price announcement for Europe. The first was from Mercer International Inc., which announced its plan on Jan. 10. European producers had previously announced a Nov. 1 $920/tonne list price for Europe, up $20/tonne, which they are still in the process of fully implementing. (For Dec. 1, Canfor Pulp LP of Vancouver, British Columbia, announced a $940/tonne list price for Europe; it was not achieved but it has not been rescinded.)

In recent days Russia’s Ilim Group announced for China, to $730/tonne (list), said to be up $10/tonne.

On Jan. 16, Chile’s Celulosa Arauco y Constitución SA (Arauco) announced for China a $10/tonne increase, to $740/tonne (net) for bleached radiata kraft pulp (BRKP), having previously raised it to $730/tonne (net) for November. Its unbleached kraft pulp (UKP) price will be unchanged at $720/tonne (net); Arauco had raised its Jan. 1 UKP price by $10/tonne.

West Fraser, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, has an NBSK capacity of 590,000 tonnes/year.

It is a major producer of bleached chemi-thermomechanical pulp (BCTMP), with a capacity of 640,000 tonnes/year. 

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