Six Chinese producers lift white cardboard prices by USD 30/t (CNY 200/t) from 1 October
Six Chinese paperboard producers - Nine Dragons Paper, APP China, Jiangsu Asia Symbol, Zhangzhou Lian Sheng, Bohui Paper and the Wanguo Sun white cardboard business - have issued price-increase letters raising white cardboard by USD 30/t (CNY 200/t). Most increases take effect on 1 October 2026, with the Wanguo Sun brands moving first on 26 September. The letters follow earlier rounds of increases in corrugating medium and containerboard.
Why this mattersA uniform USD 30/t rise across most of China's white cardboard capacity lifts input costs for folding carton and foodservice converters and signals tighter board supply.
- Nine Dragons Paper raises all white cardboard grades, including coated and food-grade board, by USD 30/t (CNY 200/t) from 1 October 2026.
- APP China raises white cardboard prices by USD 30/t (CNY 200/t), tax included, from 1 October 2026 on top of September levels.
- Jiangsu Asia Symbol raises its cardboard and food-grade board brands by USD 30/t (CNY 200/t), tax included, from 1 October 2026.
- Bohui Paper raises prices by USD 30/t (CNY 200/t), tax included, from 1 October 2026.
- Zhangzhou Lian Sheng Pulp & Paper raises its Lanye coated white cardboard by USD 30/t (CNY 200/t) from 1 October 2026.
- Wanguo Sun white, coated and food-grade cardboard grades rise USD 30/t (CNY 200/t) from 26 September 2026.
- Zhangzhou Lian Sheng cited frequent market fluctuations and sustained high production costs as reasons for the increase
- China's main pulp futures contract (2611) closed at RMB 4,828/tonne on 28 September 2026, down RMB 76/tonne from the prior session
- Mid-September average price for 250g-400g sheet white cardboard had fallen to CNY 3,849/tonne (USD 574/tonne), roll products to CNY 3,410/tonne (USD 509/tonne), below production cost for non-integrated mills
- Nine Dragons Paper also raised kraftliner prices by CNY 50/tonne (USD 7.5/tonne) at its Dongguan, Tianjin, Shenyang and Beihai mills after the holiday
- China's paper and paper products industry posted CNY 922.97bn (USD 137.67bn) revenue and CNY 24.70bn (USD 3.68bn) profit in the first eight months of 2026, up 5.0% and 23.6% year on year
- Mid-September average price for 250-400g sheet white cardboard had fallen to CNY 3849/tonne (about USD 574), roll stock to CNY 3410/tonne (about USD 509)
- Producers cite rising coal, wood-chip and logistics costs pushing market prices below production cost
- Analyst Kong Xiangfen of Sublime China Info attributes the slump to overcapacity against weak demand and expects only a tentative CNY 50/tonne rebound after the National Day holiday
- Industry theoretical margins on white cardboard are negative; only pulp-and-paper integrated producers remain profitable
- Mid-September average white cardboard prices stood at RMB 3,849 (USD 541) per tonne for sheet stock and RMB 3,410 (USD 479) per tonne for reel stock, levels producers say leave the sector loss-making except for forest-pulp-paper integrated players
- China's paper and paper products sector revenue rose 5 percent to RMB 922.9bn (USD 129.7bn) in the first eight months of 2026, with profit up 23.6 percent to RMB 24.7bn (USD 3.47bn), per National Bureau of Statistics data
- Zhangzhou Lian Sheng's integrated forestry-pulp-paper project, a total investment of RMB 22bn (USD 3.09bn), has its first phase fully operational with planned capacity of 3.9m tonnes
- Lian Sheng cut pulp raw material costs by 15 percent by substituting mixed wood chips for eucalyptus, while raising paper strength by 8 percent
- Nine Dragons Paper added a further USD 7 per tonne increase on kraft linerboard after its initial white cardboard rise
- Containerboard and white cardboard prices fell more than 3 percent month-on-month in the week of 29 September to 5 October despite the announced increases
- Market participants expect mills to achieve only around USD 7 per tonne of the full USD 30 per tonne announced rise
- Sales of gift boxes priced above CNY 1000 fell about 76 percent year on year over the holiday period, with liquor sell-through down about 10 percent