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Article: Italy: Good points and bad points
- Article from:
- PPI
- Article date:
- July 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Miller Freeman Inc. Jul 1998. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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There were two sides to the Italian paper and board industry last year. On one hand, production increased by 8.3% to 7.5 million tons as customers built up inventory levels in the wake of destocking in 1996. Exports also reached a record high at 2.2 million tons in 1997, up 12% on the previous year.
On the other hand, paper and board prices remained depressed over the first part of 1997 and only began to recover in the third quarter. The average price of pulp also increased by more than 10% on the previous year. Consequently, turnover showed a mere 1.5% rise last year, staying well below the record level set in 1995.
The strongest growth was seen in graphic and writing papers (up 9.5%), ...