SunSirs: China Wastepaper Price Plummeted Sharply, and Corrugated Paper Followed and Fell Back

According to the monitoring of the commodity market analysis system of SunSirs, the price of wastepaper fell continuously last week, and corrugated paper also followed suit. On December 19, 2025, the average purchase price of A-grade waste yellow cardboard in Zhejiang Province was 1,642 RMB/ton, a decrease of 16.48% compared to the average price on December 14. On December 19th, the average ex factory price of 140g corrugated paper was 3,100 RMB/ton, a decrease of 4.32% compared to the average price on December 14th.

At the beginning of December, domestic wastepaper prices showed certain downward pressure. With the weakening of supply tightening factors and the emergence of supply recovery, coupled with the temporary decline in domestic demand for finished paper, paper companies have increased their intention to lower wastepaper prices. In terms of supply, there has been less widespread rain and snow in China this winter, and the overall supply of wastepaper has recovered. And the speculative factors of packaging stations have basically disappeared. Due to the high price of wastepaper, the financial pressure has increased, and the intention of hoarding packaging stations to cash out at high prices has increased. The enthusiasm for shipment has also increased, resulting in the continuous growth of wastepaper supply.

However, in terms of demand, after entering December, the pressure to slow down domestic demand for finished paper has increased. With the end of the peak season for e-commerce stocking, export packaging orders have decreased year-on-year; The decrease in the operating rate of cardboard factories and the increase in the penetration rate of alternative solutions such as plastic packaging and shared express boxes further compress the demand for paper packaging.

In terms of corrugated paper: Recently, some bases of large-scale paper mills have announced preferential policies for price protection, which has led to a shift in the focus of market transactions, and small and medium-sized paper mills have followed suit. In addition, the continued weakness of market consumption has led to downstream cardboard factories continuing to reduce inventory, while packaging factory orders have also recovered moderately, resulting in a lack of enthusiasm for raw paper procurement and a decrease in frequency. The rapid decline in upstream raw material wastepaper prices and the sharp drop in cost support have caused the price of corrugated paper to stop rising and fall.

The paper analyst from SunSirs believes that the current supply and demand structure of wastepaper has changed, and the weak supply-demand situation of wastepaper is still ongoing. After a significant decline, prices may maintain a weak and stable operation in the short term. However, the supply-demand contradiction of corrugated paper is still prominent, and the market is mostly adopting a wait-and-see attitude, continuing to focus on reducing inventory. There is no significant improvement in terminal consumption, and the market lacks confidence in the future market, so there is still a possibility of price reduction.

If you have any enquiries or purchasing needs, please feel free to contact SunSirs with support@sunsirs.com.