With rising costs breathing down their necks, woodfree uncoated paper and recycled corrugated case material manufacturers want to try to charge more for their products in April. Market players were still sitting at the negotiating table in the penultimate week of March, but producers active in both sectors of the market are optimistic that they will be at least partially successful. White-top testliner producers have similar plans but are lagging somewhat behind brown paper suppliers in terms of timing. Rising costs are also being spurred by higher prices for several board grades on France's recovered paper market in France, which had become about €10/t more expensive between January and March. Woodfree coated paper producers are trying to keep prices stable, even though they said that they could certainly use higher prices. The publication paper market was performing in line with expectations. The next round of price negotiations in two to three months' time will reveal the relationship between supply and demand after the latest capacity closures in the UK and Scandinavia. Cartonboard is relatively sought-after in France at present, although the GC board market is experiencing some pressure on prices.
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