Prices for old corrugated containers (OCC) in Mexico were unchanged in April, with imported grades remaining stable month over month for the first time this year, Fastmarkets has learned.
Prices for imported OCC held at $120-130 per ton. The firm pricing follows $10-per-ton increases in March and January as well as a $15-per-ton rise in February.
Mills have steady demand for imported OCC, according to market participants. Some sellers reported renewed buying in April due to mills that had downtime increasing their demand for OCC. The additional demand was met with increased generation of OCC in the last month, contacts said, noting that available supply increased somewhat.
Mixed paper prices also held unchanged in April at $80-85 per ton. In one year, mixed paper prices have climbed by $60 per ton from $25 per ton in April 2023.
Papers from the United States are very cheap now, and we are still buying them,
“Papers from the United States are very cheap now, and we are still buying them,” one contact said.
The Mexican peso “is still very strong,” one buyer source said. “This makes the import of raw materials more competitive.”
The packaging sector in Mexico also improved in the last four weeks, according to contacts.
“We have started seeing some activity, there is still pressure to negotiate prices for liner and medium,” another contact said. “But at least the packaging market seems more active, and many of the paper mills [have] now started to buy Mexican OCC, whereas last month they weren’t.”
According to Fastmarkets’ price survey, local prices stood at 1,900-2,100 pesos ($115-128) per tonne in April, unchanged from March but 18.4% lower than year-ago levels.
“We see attempts to raise prices, with sellers citing high production costs, but demand remains low and there is plenty of supply available,” another source said.
According to market participants, however, packaging demand in Mexico remains low.
White grades
Prices for imported sorted office paper (SOP) and sorted white ledger (SWL) held at $155-165 per ton and $240-250 per ton respectively in April.
Supply of high deinking grades remains tight, contacts said.
At $325-335 per ton, hard white envelope cuttings (HWEC) prices also held unchanged in April.
Some sellers said Mexico’s demand for pulp substitutes was softer, with mills cutting their orders of pulp substitutes while maintaining the same volumes for high deinking grades in April.
Short supplies of coated groundwood sections (CGS) in April resulted in prices increasing by $5 per ton to $120-130 per ton.