There was still no sign of a real turnaround in demand for woodfree coated and uncoated papers in the first half of April in the UK, even though coronavirus measures are starting to be eased.

In the first three months of the year, overall demand and consumption remained sluggish because of the pandemic. And in April, too, printers and merchants still had significantly lower demand for paper than in the previous year.

Regardless of the current relationship between demand and production capacities, paper producers say they had no choice but to raise prices in response to rising expenses. Higher pulp prices in particular are eroding the margins of paper manufacturers.

Price hikes in the UK are applying for deliveries as of April in most cases.