"Cabbage and Chonggakmu Packaging with 'Corrugated Cardboard'... Creating New Demand for Waste Paper"

Kim Il-young, Chairman of the Korea Corrugated Packaging Industry Cooperative
Waste Paper → Corrugated Base Paper → Corrugated Paper → Corrugated Boxes System
Ministry of Environment's Full Survey and Restriction Measures on Imported Waste Paper
"Ultimately, a Vicious Cycle Will Be Caused"
If Corrugated Paper Is Used for Cabbage and Chonggak Radish Packaging
"Creates New Annual Demand of 200,000 Tons of Domestic Waste Paper"

Kim Il-young, Chairman of the Korea Corrugated Packaging Industry Cooperative

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] "If cabbages or young radishes, which are distributed unpackaged or in mesh bags, are packaged in corrugated cardboard boxes, it is expected to lead to an increase in the use of corrugated base paper and create new demand for domestically produced waste paper."

Kim Ilyoung, Chairman of the Korea Corrugated Packaging Industry Cooperative, stated that the fundamental solution to increasing the demand for domestic waste paper is to develop new markets for corrugated cardboard boxes.

Chairman Kim also mentioned, "In the case of watermelons, which were mainly shipped unpackaged, there was an increase in demand for waste paper, base paper, and corrugated cardboard last year as the market atmosphere shifted toward individually packaging them in corrugated cardboard boxes." He argued that packaging cabbages or young radishes in corrugated cardboard boxes would also contribute to improving the agricultural product distribution structure.

Kim explained, "If cabbages or young radishes, which are distributed unpackaged or in mesh bags, are converted to corrugated packaging, the annual use of corrugated base paper alone is expected to increase by about 150,000 tons in terms of weight, and domestic waste paper demand is expected to create a new demand of 200,000 tons." He added that this is a task that the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs need to address collaboratively.

This presents a new solution to the Ministry of Environment's policy announced last month to address the imbalance in waste paper supply and demand by conducting a "full investigation of imported waste paper and restricting waste paper imports." The Ministry of Environment plans to conduct a full investigation regarding compliance with regulations, including the presence of foreign substances in imported waste paper.

Chairman Kim expressed concern, "If waste paper imports are restricted, contrary to the intended purpose, it will ultimately cause a vicious cycle where the demand for domestic corrugated base paper decreases, leading to reduced use of domestic waste paper compared to now."

He also argued, "To manufacture high-quality corrugated cardboard boxes that meet distribution conditions such as client requirements, the use of imported corrugated base paper becomes inevitable, which will lead to avoidance of using domestic corrugated base paper."

The supply chain system in the corrugated cardboard-related market follows the production process of 'waste paper → corrugated base paper → corrugated cardboard → corrugated cardboard boxes.' Among these, the corrugated packaging industry is responsible for purchasing corrugated base paper and producing corrugated cardboard and corrugated cardboard boxes. Some companies also produce corrugated base paper. The Korea Corrugated Packaging Industry Cooperative is a non-profit organization composed of about 53 businesses producing corrugated cardboard, corrugated cardboard boxes, and corrugated cardboard processed products.

The imbalance in domestic waste paper supply and demand has been significantly affected by China restricting imports of Korean waste paper since 2018. With export routes blocked and domestic waste paper oversupply causing prices to fall, the waste paper industry is facing difficulties.

Chairman Kim stated, "China has strengthened its environmental protection policies and restricted the import of low-grade waste paper containing more than 0.5% impurities," adding, "Imports of European waste paper and Korean waste paper, which show impurity contents of over 3%, have been completely blocked."

In this situation, the corrugated cardboard industry uses imported American waste paper to supplement the quality of low-grade domestic waste paper by using high-quality waste paper, according to his explanation.

Kim said, "American waste paper is less recycled, so it contains a high amount of pulp residue and relatively long fibers. Domestic waste paper is highly recycled, so the corrugated base paper produced from it has fibers that are extremely short, causing strength degradation. To compensate for this, it is mixed with American waste paper to maintain strength."

He emphasized that to solve the domestic waste paper supply imbalance problem, measures must be prepared according to the environment and characteristics of the corrugated cardboard box market.

Chairman Kim said, "The use of domestic waste paper occurs at the corrugated base paper manufacturing stage, but ultimately it is determined by the market situation of corrugated cardboard boxes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.