Japan's Daio Paper and Hokuetsu
Kishu Paper have followed the lead of Mitsubishi Paper Mills and the Nippon
Paper Group, tabling large domestic price hikes on their graphic paper ranges,
effective on shipments from April 21.
In all cases the hikes have been
announced at ¥15/kg, which is equivalent to about $156/tonne. All the firms have ascribed the need for the increase to conditions since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which had a considerable impact on domestic graphic paper production.
It heralded in a boom in imports and a big drop in graphic paper prices, which they are now moving to correct.
Prices for graphic paper grades in Japan have fallen by up to 9% since March 2011.
