The international prices of cellulosea sector now key in the exports of the Uruguayimprove at the beginning of this year, although the medium-term scenario is one of uncertainty for the demand for the biopolymer.
The ton of cellulose short fiber is at 650 dollars and long fiber is at 750 dollars after losing about 8 dollars.
Despite the improvement in values, experts point out that the volatility of international markets as a consequence of inflation in USAthe stagnation of industrial activity in China and the impact that still bears Europe due to the war between Russia and Ukraine pose a scenario of uncertainty for the coming months regarding demand.
Added to this is that since Latin America The volume of pulp available on the market will increase when UPM 2 is one hundred percent operational and shipments from the MAP project (Modernization and Expansion of the Arauco Plant) from the Chilean company Arauco and from Suzano in Brazil (which begins in the middle of this year).
During 2023, the price of cellulose exported from Uruguay fell 20%, while volume increased 33% thanks to the start of operations, at the end of May, of UPM 2 Paso de los Toros.
The cellulose ranked second in the ranking of annual exports, according to the agency’s report Uruguay XXI. Exports totaled 2,019 million dollars in 2023. Compared to 2022, an increase of 7% was recorded and it was the second product with the greatest positive impact last year.
Source: Ambito
