EU exports of waste paper into India will not take place before February or even March 2022

-EU proposes stricter control measures under ‘Waste Shipment Regulation 

- Prices of OCC grades seem to recover now and volatility is high. We could see $300 MT price level soon again.

20th December 2021 | The Pulp and Paper Times

An apparent ban on recovered paper exports from EU to India in October has been attributed to a clerical error, but it is yet to be rectified by European commission. According to regulation (EU) 2021/1840 which was published on 21 October 2021 in the EU’s Official Journal, the European Commission sent written requests to the Indian governments, seeking confirmation in writing what waste may be exported from the EU and which procedure should be applicable. Indian Govt didn't reply to EU countries about the same and hence EU Govt issued notification dt 20.10.2021 about ban for Export of recovered paper to India.

Taking an update on the above accidental ban, The Pulp and Paper Times talks to Mr.  Marc Ehrlich, CEO, VIPA Group about the said ban, what we were informed was a shocking facts for the Indian paper manufacturers, “The EU Ban is still going on and shows how strict EU authorities can be: they were already officially notified of the error on the Indian response when they decided to send a message that there should be no flexibility at port until the EU law gets rectified,” Mr. Marc said.

He further explained that, as per my information, the process of amending the law has not yet started due to another country still in the process of sending a correction. My personal bet would be that EU exports into India will not take place before February or even March 2022.

 However EU’s ban has not impacted to Indian paper mills in higher scale in respect of prices of OCC, “This ban has not shown so far a huge impact on prices, and this is due to many reasons: 1) UK not being part of EU anymore is continuing to ship OCC to India, second, availability of US OCC is good at the moment so the paper mills in India are well covered” Mr. Marc said.

Besides this ban, another situation is surfacing at the European Union, which may create a hurdle in the export of OCC waste to Indian soil. The EU Commission has issued the proposal for the new legislation on the export of waste (Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on shipments of waste), which will be also ruling the exports of waste paper. 

 â€œHowever, we have to take this as an alarm for the future. The EU’s Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on shipments of waste, this comes almost to a de facto ban to any destination outside EU. As the consequence, this will mean that European paper mills will have access to unlimited supplies of very cheap waste paper, and will be in a position to offer reels of finished products at dumping prices all over the world,” Mr. Marc informed.

Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 5 (Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR)) implements in EU law the provisions of both the Basel Convention and the OECD Decision. In certain aspects, the WSR contains stricter control measures than the Basel Convention. The WSR requires Member States to ensure that shipments of waste and their treatment operations are managed in a manner that protects the environment and human health against any adverse effects that might result from such wastes. The WSR sets out control mechanisms for the export and import of waste between the EU and third countries, and for shipments between Member States. The types of controls under the WSR depend on the characteristics of the waste (for example hazardous, non-hazardous), its destination, and its treatment as part of recovery (for example recycling) or disposal (for example landfilling) operations. The WSR also lays down export prohibitions for certain categories of waste and certain destinations: the most important example is the prohibition to export hazardous waste from the EU to non-OECD countries.

“I believe it is urgent time now for the Paper Mills in India to get organized on this topic and to raise their concern with their government on unfair trade consequences” he insisted.

Mr. Marc also predicts that the prices of OCC grades seem to recover now and volatility is high. We could see $300 MT price level soon again.

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