The Indian Paper Industry accounts for about 1.6% of the world’s production of paper and Paperboard.
Here below mentioned are certain key highlights & remarks of the sector given by industry experts:

Paper in India is expected to see an average growth of 7 per cent during the next year according to prediction by the Indian Pulp and Paper Technical Association. The sector is expected to grow 7 per cent per annum. From the current about Rs 35,000 cr. size, the turnover of the industry is likely to touch 60,000 mark by 2025.

Currently, the Indian industry accounts to about 2.5 per cent of the global production of paper

The mills use a variety of raw material viz. wood, bamboo, recycled fibre, bagasse, wheat straw, rice husk, etc.; approximately 35% are based on chemical pulp, 44% on recycled fibre and 21% on agro-residues

In 2019, the global Paper and Pulp market size was USD 65510 million and it is expected to reach USD 88150 million by the end of 2026, with a CAGR of 4.6% during 2021-2026

The per capita consumption of India stands at only 9.3 kg compared to China’s 42 kg, Indonesia’s 22 kg, Malaysia’s 25 kg and the US’ 312 kg. Studies have shown that the growth of paper consumption changes from linear to exponential trends once the GDP growth rate crosses the double digit mark. Analysts often draw comparisons between the growth seen in bottled drinking water and tissue paper industries. Even if one assumes an average 9% GDP growth rate in the medium term, linear extrapolation suggests that by 2025, the country will consume over 24 million tons of paper.

The industry employs 0.37 million people directly and 1.37 million indirectly. The major players of the industry are located in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

The imports of paper and paperboards, barring the newsprint into the country, have been steadily increasing. In the last nine years, imports have risen at a CAGR of 11.34 per cent in value terms from ₹3,411 crore in 2010-11 to ₹8,972 crore in 2019-20. The imports as per estimates are growing at a very high rate as compared to the increase in domestic production rate with underutilization of domestic installed capacity

The biggest hope for the industry is the potential for the per capita paper consumption going up from the present 14 kg to about 17 kg by 2024-25. The global average per capita consumption is about 57 kg.

The industry is hoping that the Covid-19 pandemic fades away and business gets back to normalcy with schools, educational institutions, commercial establishments functioning normally within couple of months, so that it would trigger industry volume growth again.

The India corrugated boxes market size reached US$ 6.5 Billion in 2022 and the market is expected to reach US$ 12.3 Billion by 2028, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 10.8% during 2023-2028. Increasing the demand of safe and cushioned packaging of the product will augment the growth of India Corrugated box market. The procurement of latest technology machines from China, Taiwan and other Asian countries by manufacturers in order to make production fast and accurate will also drive the future of India corrugated box industry.

The market Tissue and Hygiene Paper is divided into six segments: Toilet Paper, Paper Tissues, Household Paper, Feminine Hygiene, Diapers and Incontinence. The market includes retail sales and whole sales. The consumer share of each segment is valued at retail prices (incl. VAT) whereas the AfH tissue is valued at wholesale prices (excl. VAT). The average price shown is therefore an average of both the retail and whole market. The high capital intensity of the industry and the relative saturation of its markets has led to the consolidation of the field into just a few dominant companies.

Revenue in the Tissue & Hygiene Paper market amounts to US$30,340m in 2021. The market is expected to grow annually by 4.68% (CAGR 2021-2025).

The market's largest segment is the segment Household Paper with a market volume of US$8,735m in 2021.

In global comparison, most revenue is generated in China (US$52,331m in 2021).

In relation to total population figures, per person revenues of US$21.77 are generated in 2021.

Paperex - 15th International Exhibition & Conference on Pulp, Paper & Allied Industries
Corrugex - International Exhibition & Conference on Corrugated Box, Machinery, Technology & Allied Industries
Tissueex - International Exhibition On Tissue Products, Machinery & Technologies
World of Paper - International Exhibition on Paper, Printing, Packaging Publishing and Allied Industries
Paperex South India - 6th International Exhibition & Conference on Pulp, Paper & Allied Industries