Developments in the market
Autumn 2007

1. At this moment,  there is a huge demand of LWC and MWC papers. In the near future, these paper grades are very difficult to obtain. In LWC,  we already witnessed a shortage of capacity. To restore the balance in the market, several paper mills were shut down in 2006.(a  total of 800.000 tonnes of capacity were taken out off the market). The need for LWC and MWC paper, in the meantime, had grown. And the period just after the summer break will be a very busy one for  magazines and papers.
2. According to Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), around 2015,  China will be  the biggest manufacturer of paper and cartons, thus chasing  the United States of America away from their number 1 position.
3. The profit-capital ratio of the paper market is very poor. Energy costs are rising, as  well as the prices of the raw materials. That is why paper prices can be expected to increase up to 10% in 2008, depending on the paper grade