Toilet paper has been a symbol of the corona crisis since last year. Some manufacturers have now announced that they will raise prices. But why? t-online explains what’s behind it.
Hardly any other product has achieved as much fame as toilet paper during the corona crisis in Germany. At times the shelves in supermarkets and discounters were bought empty – because some citizens were apparently afraid of increasing bowel movements due to Corona.
Now the paper rolls are again in the public eye. Because: Some manufacturers announced that they would increase the prices for the coveted commodity. The reason for this is the increased production costs.
“Raw material prices are going through the roof”
Toilet paper consists mainly of cellulose. The prices for short fiber pulp have risen significantly recently, as the industry service Euwid recently announced. A ton of bleached short-fiber pulp from Scandinavia, South America and Portugal or Spain cost 770 euros in March. A month earlier, the price was 685 euros. The prices for other pulps and recycled paper also rose.
“The raw material prices are going through the roof”, commented Gregor Andreas Geiger from the Association of German Paper Mills (VDP). And this development could continue. According to a forecast published on the Norexeco trading center, the price of bleached softwood pulp from northern countries could also rise sharply in the coming months.
While the price for a ton of softwood fabric was still $ 902 in January, the analysts expect a price of up to $ 1,220 per ton in the forecast for the coming September – an increase of around 35 percent in the coming months six months.
That is the reason for the price increase
Manufacturers and observers agree that the cause of the sharp rise in prices is the increased demand from China. Gregoar Andreas Geiger from the VDP also told t-online: “The demand from East Asia has recently risen sharply.” The background for this is, in turn, that China is leaving the Corona crisis behind and the economy in the Far East is picking up strongly.
In addition, some European pulp manufacturers recently cut back their production in order to maintain their factories, as the violinist said. Some manufacturers also blame the rise in energy prices for oil, electricity or gas for the rise in costs.
Manufacturers announced price increases
For example, Hakle boss Volker Jung told the “Lebensmittel Zeitung”: “I have not seen such an increase in several decades. We are in talks with the dealers and are preparing them for the situation.” It is considered likely that the producers will pass the increased costs on to the traders, who in turn will pass them on to the consumers.
Essity with brands such as Tork, Zewa, Danke or Tempo also recently announced that it would increase the prices for toilet paper, pocket, household or facial tissues “on average in the mid to high single-digit percentage range” – and to start talks with retailers. Essity did not want to say more about this when asked by t-online. Other tissue manufacturers such as Wepa or Fripa did not comment on their pricing policy when asked by t-online.
It is not yet possible to say how much retail prices will rise. One thing is clear: it makes little sense to storm the supermarket shelves again. Because even if it costs more, bottlenecks are not to be expected. “Buying hamsters is therefore unnecessary,” said Geiger.
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