IP informs customers of pulp price increases, including US$20/tonne for SBSK in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, effective March 1, and US$25/tonne for fluff pulp in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, effective April 1

Diane Keaton

LOS ANGELES , March 2, 2014 (Industry Intelligence Inc.) – International Paper Co. (IP) is raising its prices of southern bleached softwood kraft (SBSK) by US$20/tonne in certain markets on March 1 and of fluff pulp by $25/tonne in certain markets on April 1, according to an informed source, who said IP informed its customers of its plans on Feb. 28.

Its March 1 SBSK price hikes are for North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

It April 1 fluff pulp price increases will be for the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey. IP told customers the fluff pulp increases are due to continued strong demand, the source said.

IP had also announced Feb. 1 price increases, raising its fluff pulp price $40/tonne globally and its SBSK price $10/tonne in Asia and $20/tonne in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

IP sells more than one million tonnes/year of pulp, according to the company website.

This includes fluff pulp, northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK), SBSK, northern bleached hardwood kraft (NBHK), southern bleached hardwood kraft (SBHK), bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp (BEKP), and bleached chemi-thermomechanical pulp (BCTMP).

IP’s SBSK and SBHK are produced in Riegelwood, North Carolina, and in Eastover, South Carolina, and in Saillat, France.

Its other pulps are produced in mills located overseas: BEKP at mills in Mogi Guacu, Brazil, and Luiz Antionio, Brazil; NBSK and NBHK in Kwidzyn, Poland, and BCTMP in Svetogorsk, Russia.

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