“Tissue giants will keep increasing their capacity, which means that market share of small producers will tend to fall in future.”
smaller mills are outdated and often do not meet modern envi- ronmental standards. “The big companies produce basic products such as ivory and tissue, while small companies produce specialty paper. Tissue giants will keep increasing their capacity, which means that market share of small producers will tend to fall in future.” Good supply of skilled labour ITOCHU Guangzhou Limited has been the agent of Metsä Fibre in the APAC region since 2005. Pulp Sales Manager of ITOCHU Guangzhou He Xin estimates that the market in Guangxi will continue to develop rapidly in the coming years. “Profit in tissue production is very limited now, but the pro- duction costs in Guangxi are still low, and there is a good supply of skilled labour. The salary costs in the coastal area are 18 per cent lower than in inland cities of China, and the rental fees for land and factory buildings are also lower. I believe Guangxi will become a major paper and pulp production province, and some capacity from nearby province Guangdong will move to Guangxi.” Logistics play an important role in the trade and supply chain of export-oriented business. Apart from rail transport and the highway from the province capital, Nanning, to the coast, the expansion of port operations in Guangxi is an essential element in the rising status of the province. “Production in Guangxi exceeds domestic demand, so paper and pulp mills are selling their products not only to nearby prov- inces such as Guangdong, Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan but to ASEAN countries and the Middle East as well," He says. Shore connections The main ports of the area include Qinzhou, Fangcheng and most importantly, Beihai Shibulin and Tieshan. The ports are operat- ed by Beibu Gulf Port Group, ranked as China’s eighth-largest
container port group. In the first quarter of 2022, the company operated over 1.4 million TEU containers (Twenty Foot Equiv- alent Unit). However, the capacity of Beihai port will need to grow to meet the increase in paper and pulp production in the area, says Myra Ji , Shanghai-based Regional Logistics Manager for Metsä Group. “Currently, the Beihai Tieshan terminal focuses on break bulk cargo handling and some domestic container deliveries. The port is quite congested. As more investments are made to increase paper and pulp production, the port construction has not kept up. It has become the bottleneck, restraining material deliveries in, and finished products out,” Ji says. At Beihai Tieshan port, two new berths for 150-tonne vessels and four for smaller vessels are expected to be in use by mid-2024. After the expansion, Beihai Shibulin port will be shut down in a few years, and operations will gradually be transferred to the Tieshan terminal. Even though competition in the paper business in the area is set to get tougher, He sees the future as positive. “Metsä Fibre has quality products and can provide regular supply and customer technical service. These are the most valu- able things in our partnership. In future, I expect Metsä Fibre to strengthen its presence in South China and especially in Guangxi region.” •
ITOCHU Corporation A Japanese trading company founded in 1858 is one of Metsä Fibre’s owners together with Metsäliitto Cooperation and Metsä Board. ITOCHU is today involved in domestic trading as well as importing and exporting various goods and materials. The company operates in various sectors such as textiles, metals, minerals, food, communication technology and finance, energy, chemicals, and machinery. www.itochu.co.jp
Myra Ji Regional Logistics Manager at Metsä Group Shanghai. She has held the position since 2015.
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