According to the monitoring of the commodity market analysis system of SunSirs, the prices of wastepaper and corrugated paper both showed a continuous decline in early January. On January 16, 2026, the average purchase price of A-grade waste yellow cardboard in Zhejiang Province was 1,586 RMB/ton, a decrease of 7.79% compared to the average price on January 1. The average factory price of 140g corrugated paper is 2,710 RMB/ton, a decrease of 8.14% compared to the average price on January 1st.

In terms of wastepaper: Since January, the price of wastepaper has stopped rising and fallen, and the downward trend has continued to deepen. On the supply side, the packaging station has a high intention to ship, and coupled with the off-season for recycling before the Spring Festival, the overall supply of wastepaper is relatively low. In some areas, trading is relatively weak due to the impact of snowfall weather, and the overall supply is positively affected by price trends. However, the downstream finished paper prices have experienced a significant decline. Despite the average supply of wastepaper, paper mills have continued to proactively lower the purchase prices of wastepaper, mainly to avoid the risk of high priced raw materials.

In terms of corrugated paper: In early January, the price of corrugated paper continued the downward trend from the end of last year. On the supply side, although some devices were scheduled to shut down for maintenance within the month, the reduction in supply was not significant, coupled with the continued decline in raw material and wastepaper prices, resulting in a bearish sentiment in the raw paper market. On the demand side, the peak season of corrugated paper market before the Spring Festival this year was not as prosperous as in previous years, mainly due to the strong rise in paper prices in the early stage, which led to downstream packaging companies having more inventory. At the beginning of the month, some varieties of large-scale paper enterprises continued to implement the price protection policy, and the unit price of small and medium-sized paper enterprises fell slightly. As the Spring Festival approaches, downstream cardboard factories are mainly actively digesting raw paper inventory, and the enthusiasm for raw paper procurement is average.

The paper analyst from SunSirs believes that as the Spring Festival holiday approaches, paper mills may gradually launch their Spring Festival stock preparation plans, which will help to strengthen the demand for waste yellow cardboard and provide some positive guidance for the price trend of waste yellow cardboard. But in the early stage, the price fell and the market sentiment was more bearish, resulting in a weak rebound in the price of wastepaper. Recently, the corrugated paper market has seen continuous reports of paper mill shutdowns, which may temporarily alleviate supply pressure. However, downstream stocking sentiment was poor before the year, and it is expected that both prices will remain low and fluctuate weakly in the short term.

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