In the current economic situation, how is the pulp and paper industry different from other industries?
The state of the pulp and paper industry is quite negative. In fact, the industry has been in an extended crisis for the last five or six years. The reasons for this are quite obvious and well known. The demand in many important sectors continues to decrease. An example of this drop in demand is the use of encyclopedias around the world. These once commonplace books do not exist anymore and have been replaced everywhere by Internet searches. We have already witnessed declines in the use of graphic paper in many countries over the last couple of years, and it is common knowledge that this trend will continue. What are the regional differences in this industry? A factor that further accelerates the decline is the regional nature of the pulp and paper business. Strong demand in one region—for example, Asia-Pacific—cannot really be served by companies in Europe or North America because of the transportation dynamics. There are also specific regional challenges. For instance, if we look at
