Production of paper and board was 88m tonnes, but the decline comes after average annual increases of 2.5% since 1998. The 2001 figure was 5m tonnes above production in 1998.
As you can see from the statistics, clearly the industry suffered a bad year, said CEPI statistics manager Eric Kilby.

But CEPI claimed that the 2.5% fall was less dramatic than that experienced in other regions around the world.

The overall consumption of paper and board remained unchanged at 84.1m tonnes, with the slowdown in the European economy reflected throughout the 2001 figures. Despite CEPIs belief that 2001 was a difficult year for paper and board producers in Western Europe, it said that in global terms CEPI member countries maintained their share of paper and board output.

Pulp output was estimated to be down by 4% to around 39m tonnes. The overall output of graphic grades was down by around 4%, to just over 43m tonnes, but newsprint production was up 1% to 10.68m tonnes. Production of packaging grades fell 1% to 35.4m tonnes.

CEPI represents 18 member countries and 1,000 paper and board producing companies across Europe.

Story by Andy Scott