Valued at $412.2 million, imports of paper, paperboard and related fibre products were up 16.8% over the year-ended April 2019. As the infographic shows, shipments from Asia are dominant and lifted 15.9% to $279.0 million.

Our view is that the most interesting element of this data – beyond the rise in the total value of imports – is the 14.1% lift in imports of pre-converted packaging, which includes corrugated boxes, folding boxes (cartonboard), moulded fibre and bags and sacks. The detailed data shows some of those materials experienced large import rises, but not all. The implications for the Queensland market appear to be that more pre-converted packaging is required than ever before. Is that yet another opportunity in the Sunshine state?

Each month, in Pulp & Paper Edge, IndustryEdge provides extensive coverage of the pulp, fibre supplies, paper, paperboard and paper products industry.

Copy the image and feel free to use it with attribution to IndustryEdge and the source data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.