Three major newsprint production sites in Europe, North America and Asia produce about 95% of the world's newsprint.
The output of European newsprint was less than 12 million tons before 2003, which was less than that of North America. In 2004, the output increased by 13.4 million tons, and in 2005 it was 13.25 million tons, which surpassed North America to become the world's largest newsprint production area.
North America's newsprint output reached more than 14 million tons in 2001, reduced to over 13 million tons from 2002 to 2004, and dropped to 12.66 million tons in 2005.
Asian newsprint production increased from 8.7 million tons in 2001 to 8.9 million tons in 2002, 9.15 million tons in 2003, 10.4 million tons in 2004, and 10.66 million tons in 2005, a significant increase year after year.
The production of newsprint in Europe, North America, and Asia accounted for 34.2%, 32.7%, and 27.5% of the world's total output, respectively, which together accounted for 94.5% of the world's total (2005).
Canada and the United States of North America are the world’s two largest newsprint producers. Canada’s newsprint production is the highest in the world. Between 2001 and 2004, the production of newsprint in Canada was more than 8 million tons, and in 2003 it was 8.5 million tons, but in 2005 it was reduced to 7.77 million tons, and in 2006 it was further reduced to 7.12 million tons. The Canadian newsprint production accounted for 18.4 of the world’s total output. %.
Canada is also the world’s largest exporter of newsprint. In 2004, the export volume reached 7.08 million tons, which was reduced to 6.73 million tons in 2005 and continued to decrease to 6.08 million tons in 2006. The share of Canadian newsprint exports in production was high, reaching 86.6% in both 2004 and 2005, and slightly lower to 85.4% in 2006.
The U.S. newsprint production decreased from 6.7 million tons in 2000 to 5.25 million tons in 2002 and 5.1 million tons in 2004, and it was reduced to 4.89 million tons in 2005 and 4.72 million tons in 2006.
The consumption of newsprint in the United States is naturally very large. In 2004, it was 10.4 million tons. In 2005, it was reduced to 9.61 million tons. The gap between production and consumption amounts to several million tons. Therefore, the United States needs a large amount of news paper every year. Imports in 2004 and 2005 were 5.3 million tons and 4.95 million tons, respectively. In 2006, it was 4.43 million tons. The United States is the world’s largest newsprint importer.
Compared with imports, U.S. newsprint has a much smaller export volume, with 550,000 tons in 2005 and 490,000 tons in 2006.
The output of Japanese newsprint has been more than 3 million tons since 1995. In 2000, the output was 3.4 million tons. In 2002, it reached 3.6 million tons. It increased to 3.7 million tons in 2004, and slightly increased to 3.72 million tons in 2005 and 2006, respectively. And 3.77 million tons. Japan’s newsprint paper imports and exports are not large, in 2006 were 270,000 tons and 150,000 tons.
The production of newsprint in China grew rapidly. In 2001, it was 1.73 million tons. In 2003, it increased to 2.07 million tons of more than 2 million tons, in 2004 it reached 3 million tons, in 2005 it was 3.19 million tons, and in 2006 it increased to 3.75 million tons. From 2001 to 2006, China's newsprint production increased by a total of 2.02 million tons, a total increase of up to 117%, an average annual increase of 17%. In major newsprint producing countries, China’s output has grown at the highest rate.
China’s imports of newsprint have been significantly reduced, from 120,000 tons in 2004 to 140,000 tons in 2005, and to 10,000 tons in 2006. In contrast, exports have increased significantly, from 17,000 tons in 2004 and 20,000 tons in 2005 to 32 million tons in 2006.
The countries with more than 2 million tons of newsprint production are Sweden's 2.54 million tons, Germany's 2.37 million tons and Russia's 2.01 million tons. Sweden’s export of newsprint is only less than that of Canada. In 2004, 2005 and 2006, it was 2.26 million tons, 2.15 million tons and 2.07 million tons, respectively. The volume of imports and exports of newsprint in Germany is relatively large. In 2006, they were 1.46 million tons and 1.11 million tons, respectively. Russia’s newsprint exports exceeded 1 million tons, and in 2006 it was 1.26 million tons.
In addition, there are South Korea, France and the United Kingdom among the top ten newsprint producing countries, with 1.61 million tons, 1.11 million tons and 1.1 million tons respectively.