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- Date:
5/20/2018
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The paper making has grown very well in Iran over the past few years so that the current capacity of the installed paper making machinery in Iran reaches around 3,500,000 tons.
Considering Iran’s demand for packaging paper is not more than 800,000 tons, the remaining capacity of the paper making machinery is not used in the country, and the factories produces 30% of their capacity.
On the other hand, Iran is a poor country in terms of cellulosic resources and does not have usable forest resources for paper making industry.
There are bagasse resources only in the southern part of the country where there is only a paper mill called Pars Paper.
However, due to the abundance of bagasse in this region, it is possible to establish pulping plants in the southwest of Iran, but even if this prediction comes true, very little of the domestic requirements will be met, too.
At present, all the manufacturers of packaging paper are using waste paper.
In the best condition, the maximum amount of collected waste paper in Iran is from one million to one million and 200 thousand tons which will suffice the production of 850 thousand tons of packing paper.
If Iran intends to increase the production of packaging paper at over 850 thousand tons, the imports of waste paper is the only way to supply its raw materials.
The mentioned solution is one of the easiest ways to supply raw materials, but adding pulp to manufactured packing paper to enhance their quality is required especially for the exports of them.
“Apart from Pars Paper Factory in the south of Iran, which independently produces a small amount of bagasse pulp, there is no independent pulp producer in Iran,” and the imports is the only solution to supply pulp.
The imports of pulp to Iran have risen in the past years, and this trend is predicted to continue in the coming years.
The imports of pulp to Iran:
2014 120,000 tons
2015 180,000
2016 200,000
2017 230,000
Forecasting the imports of pulp
2018 270,000 tons
2019 320,000
2020 360,000
2021 450,000
One of the ways for the most countries that lack cellulose resources is to produce their required pulp and paper in other countries.
The establishment of pulp making plants in other countries can be used as a solution for the supply of raw materials of Iranian paper mills.
The construction of pulp making factories can also be in the form of joint venture with other foreign companies.
With regard to the close proximity of Russia to Iran and its abundant forest resources, Iran can invite industrial investors to think in this respect.
Dr. Amir Hosseini
Manager of Paperandwood.com