Myanmar's paper pulping market has huge potential
At present, the paper industry has become one of the 13 industries that encourage investment in Myanmar. Under the premise of overcapacity in domestic papermaking and increasingly high labor costs, the future papermaking market in Myanmar may be an important development direction for the domestic papermaking market.
Paper is one of the commodities that Myanmar allows for free import and export. At present, Myanmar still needs to import a large amount of paper. "Myanmar Investment" reported on December 24, 2017 that the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) encourages investors to invest in 13 manufacturing industries and will provide investors in these industries with further convenient measures to replace imports. In these 13 industries, paper industry is included.
In paper consumption, per capita household paper consumption is considered to be one of the important indicators to measure the level of modernization and civilization of a country. In 2016, the per capita consumption of household paper in Sweden and the U.S. reached more than 20 kg. The top three per capita consumption of household paper in Asia were South Korea (19 kg), Japan (14 kg) and Taiwan (10 kg). , India’s per capita consumption of household paper is about 0.5 kilograms, and that of China’s mainland is 6 kilograms.
An article pointed out that the consumption of household paper in Myanmar in 2013 was about 3,000 tons, and the per capita consumption of household paper was only 54 grams, but the author believes that the data is seriously underestimated. According to 2016 data, Myanmar’s per capita GDP was US$1,279, India’s US$1,709, and China’s US$8,123. After comparison and calculation, the annual per capita household paper consumption in Myanmar is estimated to be within 500 grams and approaching 500 grams. The small consumption of paper indicates that the paper industry has great potential.
Three major pulp and paper mills in Myanmar
At present, Myanmar has built and put into production three pulp mills. The paper and pulp industry has a small scale and limited production capacity, which cannot meet domestic demand.
1. Dabang Paper Mill
Tabang Paper Mill is the largest paper mill in Myanmar. It is located in Tabang Town, Pathein County, western Ayeyarwady Province, on the west bank of Pathe River, about 50 kilometers away from Pathein, the capital of Ayeyarwady Province, and about 28 meters above sea level. Dabang Paper Mill is a newly built factory in 2000. It uses bamboo as raw material and produces 200 tons of bamboo pulp per day. The China Metallurgical Construction Corporation and the Paper and Chemicals Company of the First Ministry of Industry of Myanmar signed a project contract, and undertook the construction of the entire project. With a total investment of 300 million US dollars, it will be put into production in August 2005, with an annual production capacity of 60,000 tons.
In March 2006, Dabang Paper Mill exported 10,000 tons of bamboo pulp board to China. Dabang Paper Mill also has a high-grade paper production line with a daily output of 50 tons.
2. Yeni Paper Mill
Yeni Paper Mill is the second largest paper mill in Myanmar. It is located in Yeni, Yedashe Township, Toungoo County, Bago Province, 2 kilometers from the west bank of the Sitang River, about 50 kilometers from Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar, and about 78 meters above sea level. The Yeni Paper Mill was first a paper processing plant using German equipment, and it was put into operation in 1978. In 1980, Japanese equipment was used to build a pulp production line with a daily output of 30 tons. In April 2006, the construction of a pulp production line with a daily output of 50 tons using wood as raw materials and a production line with a daily output of 80 tons of paper bag paper using bamboo as raw materials was started. The total investment of the project was US$82 million. The production capacity is 40,000 tons. At the end of 2017, news on the Internet showed that this Myanmar paper mill was seeking cooperation.
3. Xidang Paper Mill
The Xidang Paper Mill is located in Jitao Township, Mon State Direct County, on the east bank of the Xidang River, near the Xidang Bridge, about 18 kilometers from the mouth of the Xidang River, about 150 kilometers from Yangon City, and about 42 meters above sea level.
The Xidang Paper Mill was a factory aided by the Sichuan Yibin Paper Mill in 1962. It used bamboo as a raw material and was put into operation in 1971. It is an established state-owned enterprise in Myanmar. Technological transformation, with a daily output of 60 tons of bamboo pulp and an annual production capacity of 20,000 tons.
The three pulp mills of the Myanmar Paper Industry have a history of cooperating with Chinese manufacturers. There are not many types of pulp raw materials, mainly bamboo, with an annual production capacity of only 120,000 tons, which is far from meeting the needs of the Myanmar market and costs a lot each year. Foreign exchange, import all kinds of paper. In China's Yunnan Province, which is connected to Myanmar, the paper industry is also in a backward stage compared with other advanced provinces in China. Large pulp mills are scarce, and more than 50% of paper products need to be transferred from other provinces.
However, the raw materials of the Yunnan pulp mill are more diversified. For example, Lincang Nanhua Paper Co., Ltd. is located in Gengma County, Lincang City, with an annual output of 100,000 bagasse pulp paper production line, and Yunnan Yunjing Forest Paper Co., Ltd. is located in Jinggu County, Pu'er City The company has a wood pulp production line with an annual output of 250,000 tons and a mulberry pulp production line with an annual output of 150,000 tons, located in Luliang County, Qujing City, which will be put into operation in 2019.
At present, India is the world's fastest growing paper market, while the Chinese market is heavily dependent on imports for wood pulp, and is the world's largest wood pulp importer. Myanmar itself lacks pulp. At the same time, Myanmar is rich in forest resources, the climate is suitable for the growth of various fast-growing forests, and there are many hilly wastelands for development and utilization.
Faced with the shortage of paper in the market in this region, perhaps, Myanmar can give full play to the geo-economic advantages of the two most populous countries in the world to create more large-scale and higher-level paper industry projects.