From newspapers to notebooks, consumers are paying for the rising price of paper

Liberation evoked at the beginning of January "a very strong increase" in the price of paper.

This has jumped 85% since July 2021, reported to Figaro the president of the National Publishing Union, Vincent Montagne.

The increase is particularly visible in kiosks, with an increase of 10 to 20 cents in the price of the main newspapers, but all paper-based products have suffered an increase in their selling price for a year.

These increases are the mark of the increase in production costs throughout 2022, which manufacturers and distributors are now passing on to their selling prices.

The increases in energy costs in 2022 have particularly affected the paper industry, "intense in energy", as Paul-Antoine Lacour, general delegate of the French Union of Cardboard Industries, told AFP. papers and cellulose (Copacel).

Between 10% and 20% of a paper mill's production costs are spent on gas and electricity, he explains.

On average, all sectors combined, in the European Union, the share of energy in a company's production costs is 1% to 3%.

In addition, the price of wood, the basic ingredient of paper, remains very high since stoves using wood pellets, which individuals use for heating, have become very popular in 2022, the year of the hydrocarbon crisis.

"It's the same type of granule as that used for the manufacture of paper", explains Mr. Lacour.

The effects are also felt at the end of the chain.

The price of a paper towel roll in supermarkets increased by 26% between December 2021 and December 2022, indicates panelist NielsenIQ.

Between 10% and 20% of a paper mill's production costs are spent on gas and electricity © JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP/Archives

The increase is 20% for toilet paper, 7.6% for feminine hygiene products and diapers, 13% for tissues and paper packaging, again according to NielsenIQ.

The January literary season is also marked by an increase in the price of books.

"Passing on the increases"

Throughout 2022, manufacturers of paper-based products accumulated increases in production costs that it was sometimes difficult for them to pass on to the selling price to distributors, who refused to inflict too sudden an increase on their customer base.

“The negotiations for 2022 were a bit tense,” recalls Guillaume Nusse, CEO of Clairefontaine, which produces 26,000 paper notebooks each year for mass distribution.

Overall, for 2022, the boss of Clairefontaine estimates at "20% to 30%" the increase in the price of his products on the shelves of distributor stores © FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP/Archives

But before the end of 2022, his company was able to "pass on the increases" during renegotiations with distributors at a time when tensions on paper stocks, due to the cessation of imports due to Covid, had tilted the discussions in favor of manufacturers.

Overall, for 2022, the boss of Clairefontaine estimates at “20% to 30%” the increase in the price of his products on the shelves of distributor stores.

“There is no increase in sales prices expected in 2023,” he adds, however.

"Everything will depend on the price of energy. Above all, there is uncertainty."

Energy costs have been on the ebb since the end of 2022. "But they have not gone down for us because we are under a fixed-price contract", explains Emmanuel Coulon, managing director of Papeco, a French manufacturer of hygiene products. in paper.

“The general trend is towards uncertainty and high volatility,” summarizes Mr. Lacour, from Copacel.

© 2023 AFP