Thailand Paper & Pulp Industry Market Intelligence
Thai paper, pulp generates USD 1.57B in 2024 HS 47-48 exports; SCG Packaging (SET: SCGP) integrates Phoenix Pulp, Siam Kraft, TCP across ASEAN, Double A leads printing/writing, EU PPWR and China recycled-pulp rules reset the cycle.
Key takeaways
- 1
Thai paper, pulp exports reached in 2024 across HS 47 (pulp) and HS 48 (paper, paperboard) per UN Comtrade, an lift on 2023 and the highest level since 2022.
- 2
SCG Packaging (SET: SCGP) is the regional anchor: FY2025 group revenue (- YoY on Q3 recovery), integrated across Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia with a three-pronged Indonesian Fajar consolidation, China pivot and healthcare-packaging venture.
- 3
SCGP owns the fibre stack through Phoenix Pulp (Nam Phong, ~240 ktpa eucalyptus, bamboo, kenaf), Thai Cane Paper (SET: TCP, kraft liner) and Siam Kraft Industry (Ratchaburi 2.3 Mtpa containerboard and sack kraft).
- 4
Double A (SET: 1DA) holds the global commodity printing, writing niche with shipments to 130+ countries and a Khan-Na contract-farming model that sources eucalyptus from rice-paddy bunds rather than dedicated plantations.
- 5
Structural variables for 2026-2031: EU PPWR Regulation 2025/40 (in force February 2025, general application August 2026), China's October 2025 recycled-pulp contamination rules that cut imports QoQ, and the EUDR deforestation due-diligence regime that demands geolocated fibre traceability.
Executive summary
Thailand's paper and pulp industry sits at a structural inflection. UN Comtrade puts HS 47-48 export earnings at in 2024, the highest level since 2022, recovering from the 2023 pulp-price reset and reflecting renewed ASEAN packaging demand. Domestic-plus-export revenue across the integrated stack is approximately per FTI Paper Industry Club and SCB EIC estimates. The market is led by one regional consolidator and a series of specialists rather than a fragmented producer base.[, , , ]
SCG Packaging (SET: SCGP) is the dominant force. The group reported FY2025 consolidated revenue of (- year-on-year, with Q3 2025 recovery signs), operating Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia from an integrated fibre base through Phoenix Pulp & Paper (Nam Phong, Khon Kaen, ~240 ktpa pulp from eucalyptus, bamboo and kenaf), Siam Kraft Industry (Ratchaburi 2.3 Mtpa kraft and containerboard), Thai Cane Paper (SET: TCP, Kanchanaburi and Prachinburi kraft liner) and a 370 ktpa Vinh Phuc Vietnam expansion completed by 2024. Press coverage in late 2025 described SCGP's three-pronged strategy as Indonesian Fajar consolidation, China pivot via Vina Kraft and a healthcare-packaging joint venture.[, , , ]
The independent listed counterpoint is Double A (1991) (SET: 1DA). Double A leads commodity printing, writing paper from the Si Maha Phot Prachinburi complex, with FY2024 revenue near and shipments to 130-plus countries. Its differentiator is the Khan-Na (paddy-bund) eucalyptus programme, which contracts rice farmers to grow Eucalyptus camaldulensis on the unused rims of paddy fields rather than carving out monoculture plantations. Advance Agro, also Prachinburi, is the private printing, writing peer at a smaller scale. The structural variables now reshaping competition are EU PPWR Regulation 2025/40 (in force 11 February 2025, general application 12 August 2026), China's October 2025 tightening of recycled-pulp contamination and traceability rules (which cut Chinese imports QoQ and forced Thai mills to redirect flows back into ASEAN packaging), and the EUDR deforestation due-diligence framework that turns geolocated fibre traceability into table stakes for EU offtake.[, , , ]
Thailand paper, pulp export earnings (USD billion, HS 47-48, 2020-2024)
2020
Exports USD B
1.15
YoY %
n/a (base year)
Context
COVID disruption; e-commerce boxboard surge offsets printing slump
2021
Exports USD B
1.32
YoY %
+14.8%
Context
ASEAN packaging demand recovery; pulp price upcycle begins
2022
2023
Exports USD B
1.42
YoY %
-4.1%
Context
Pulp reset; China demand softens; printing decline continues
2024
| Year | Exports USD B | YoY % | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1.15 | n/a (base year) | COVID disruption; e-commerce boxboard surge offsets printing slump |
| 2021 | 1.32 | +14.8% | ASEAN packaging demand recovery; pulp price upcycle begins |
| 2022 | 1.48 | +12.1% | Pulp price peak; SCGP regional consolidation accelerates |
| 2023 | 1.42 | -4.1% | Pulp reset; China demand softens; printing decline continues |
| 2024 | 1.57 | +10.6% | Packaging tailwind; SCGP Vinh Phuc Vietnam fully online |
Grade mix of Thai paper, pulp output (% FY2024 revenue)
Corrugated containerboard, kraft liner
Share %
48%
Demand driver
ASEAN e-commerce, food, electronics export packaging
Printing, writing paper
Share %
Demand driver
Structural decline; office, education residual
Virgin and recycled pulp
Share %
Demand driver
Captive Phoenix Pulp output; export pulp to China, Japan
Tissue, hygiene
Share %
11%
Demand driver
Urbanisation, premiumisation, hospitality recovery
Food-grade, specialty packaging
Share %
6%
Demand driver
QSR, ready-meal, EU PPWR-compliant fibre packaging
Other industrial papers
Share %
3%
Demand driver
Sack kraft, label, specialty industrial
| Grade | Share % | Demand driver |
|---|---|---|
| Corrugated containerboard, kraft liner | 48% | ASEAN e-commerce, food, electronics export packaging |
| Printing, writing paper | 18% | Structural decline; office, education residual |
| Virgin and recycled pulp | 14% | Captive Phoenix Pulp output; export pulp to China, Japan |
| Tissue, hygiene | 11% | Urbanisation, premiumisation, hospitality recovery |
| Food-grade, specialty packaging | 6% | QSR, ready-meal, EU PPWR-compliant fibre packaging |
| Other industrial papers | 3% | Sack kraft, label, specialty industrial |
Analyst framing
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Key figures
Selected anchors from the report evidence pack.
Thailand paper and pulp sector revenue (2020-2024)
Federation of Thai Industries Paper Industry Club, Thai Paper Industries Association, SCG Packaging annual reports, Mordor Intelligence packaging sector report
SCG Packaging (SCGP) revenue (2020-2025)
SCG Packaging SET filings, SCGP Annual Report 2024, KAOHOON International 9M2024 earnings note, GuruFocus revenue history
Thailand HS 47-48 paper and pulp exports (2020-2024)
Thai Customs Department HS-47 and HS-48 export records, Trading Economics, Phoenix Pulp and Paper supplier registers, Statista quarterly export tracker
Thailand paper and pulp production mix by segment
Federation of Thai Industries Paper Industry Club, SCG Packaging segment reporting, Thai Paper Industries Association, Mordor Intelligence
Thailand eucalyptus plantation area
Royal Forest Department, Forest Industry Organisation, SCG Packaging fibre disclosures, World Rainforest Movement historical record
Thailand EU PPWR Regulation impact (paper sector)
EU Regulation 2025/40, SGS Thailand regulatory note, European Commission environment portal, Greenberg Traurig legal analysis
Phoenix Pulp & Paper output
Phoenix Pulp & Paper, SCG Packaging fibres segment reporting, Panjiva shipment tracker, Australia Anti-Dumping Commission exporter briefing
Smallholder share of pulp fibre supply
Royal Forest Department, SCG Packaging supply-chain disclosure, Forest Stewardship Council Thailand, Double A sustainability reports
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