Pulp Friday Resale Market Softens; PIX Prices Hold Steady

Research evidence excerpt

Pulp Friday Resale Market Softens; PIX Prices Hold Steady

trend. According to Fastmarkets, Mexican

containerboard prices stayed mostly stable in May, despite some suppliers pushing for

increases due to higher logistics and input costs, with weak demand limiting upward

movement. US exports to Mexico are rising, supporting potential future price hikes, while

US export prices for kraft linerboard have increased for the second consecutive month.

Boxboard prices in Mexico remained unchanged, but the local industry faces ongoing

pressure from competitive European imports and declining US exports to Latin America.

Utipulp – Monthly European Pulp Consumption & Inventories

Utilpulp: European pulp consumption decreased in April; Inventories now down

16.8% YTD. Total consumption reached 816kt, down by 4.9% m/m, yet still up 4.0% y/y,

sustaining a 1.0% YTD growth. The monthly performance was mainly due to a 5.3%

contraction in bleached kraft, which was attributed to a combination of decreases in both

hardwood and softwood (6.9% and 1.2% respectively), while partially offset by a 2.5%

increase in unbleached kraft. Year over year, softwood (up 6.5%) drove bleached kraft up by

4.4%, which more than offset a 4.5% decrease in unbleached kraft. Overall inventories

reached 692kt, representing a 0.4% m/m decrease while down 19.8% y/y after strong

inventory levels for 2025. For the month, softwood drove the movement, down by 4.7%,

while partially offset by a 2.2% increase in hardwood, while for the year, both softwood and

hardwood were down (-17.3% and - 22.0% respectively).

Figure 5: European Pulp Consumption and

Inventories

Kt

Consumption Apr-26 Mar-26 MoM MoM Abs Apr-25 YoY YoY Abs YTD vs 12M avg vs 5Y avg

Total Consumption 816 858 -4.9% -42 785 4.0% 31 1% 2.0% 22.9%