Kraft Paper Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2032

This report describes and explains the kraft paper market and covers 2017-2022, termed the historic period, and 2022-2027 termed the forecast period, along with further forecasts for the period 2027-2032. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global kraft paper market reached a value of nearly $16,254.7 million in 2022, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.1% since 2017. The market is expected to grow from $16,254.7 million in 2022 to $20,007.8 million in 2027 at a rate of 4.2%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.4% from 2027 and reach $24,868.5 million in 2032.

Growth in the historic period resulted from strong economic growth in emerging markets, rise in demand for ready-to-eat food products. growing e-commerce and rising inclination towards alternatives to plastics. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were the easy availability and low cost of conventional plastics, fluctuating prices of raw materials and shift towards packaging free products.

Going forward, the increasing government support, increase in awareness and rapid urbanization will drive the growth. factors that could hinder the growth of the kraft paper market in the future the Russia-Ukraine war, the rising interest rates and reductions in free trade.

The kraft paper market is segmented by type into virgin natural kraft paper, natural recycled kraft paper, black kraft paper, colored kraft paper, white or bleached kraft paper and printed kraft paper. The virgin natural kraft paper market was the largest segment of the kraft paper market segmented by type, accounting for 30.3% of the total in 2022. Going forward, the natural recycled kraft paper segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the kraft paper market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 4.6% during 2022-2027.

The kraft paper market is segmented by packaging form into corrugated boxes, grocery boxes, industrial bags, wraps, pouches and envelopes. The corrugated boxes market was the largest segment of the kraft paper market segmented by packaging form, accounting for 38.1% of the total in 2022. Going forward, the pouches segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the kraft paper market segmented by packaging form, at a CAGR of 4.6% during 2022-2027.

The kraft paper market is segmented by end users into food and beverages, building and construction, electronics and electricals, cosmetic and personal care, textile manufacturing and other end users. The food and beverages market was the largest segment of the kraft paper market segmented by end users, accounting for 29.5% of the total in 2022. Going forward, the building and construction segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the kraft paper market segmented by end user, at a CAGR of 4.5% during 2022-2027.

The kraft paper market is segmented by grade into unbleached and bleached. The unbleached market was the largest segment of the kraft paper market segmented by grade, accounting for 65.0% of the total in 2022. Going forward, the unbleached segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the kraft paper market segmented by grade, at a CAGR of 4.6% during 2022-2027.

Asia Pacific was the largest region in the kraft paper market, accounting for 34.2% of the total in 2022. It was followed by North America, and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the kraft paper market will be South America and Asia Pacific where growth will be at CAGRs of 7.1% and 5.0% respectively. These will be followed by North America and Eastern Europe where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 4.05% and 3.99% respectively.

The global kraft paper market is concentrated, with a small number of players dominating the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 45.09% of the total market in 2022. Mondi Group was the largest competitor with 9.89% of the market, followed by Stora Enso with 6.85%, WestRock with 5.47%, Smurfit Kappa with 5.07%, Klabin S.A. with 4.94%, Nine Dragons Paper Holdings with 4.60%, Billerud AB with 2.66%, Heinzel Group with 1.93%, Segezha Group with 1.88% and International Paper with 1.83%.

The top opportunities in the kraft paper market segmented by type will arise in the virgin natural kraft paper segment, which will gain $1,113.6 million of global annual sales by 2027. The top opportunities in the kraft paper market segmented by packaging form will arise in the corrugated boxes segment, which will gain $1,472.6 million of global annual sales by 2027. The top opportunities in the kraft paper market segmented by grade will arise in the unbleached segment, which will gain $2,634.9 million of global annual sales by 2027. The top opportunities in the kraft paper market segmented by end user will arise in the food and beverages segment, which will gain $1,150.4 million of global annual sales by 2027. The kraft paper market size will gain the most in the USA at $919.6 million.

Market-trend-based strategies for the kraft paper market include focus on new paper packaging, focus avoiding the need for extra plastic to develop new products, launch of new, innovative products to attract more customers, technological advancements to provide advance solutions, increasing investments to expand manufacturing capacities and partnerships and collaborations to strengthen product portfolio and geographic presence.

Player-adopted strategies in the kraft paper market include focus on strategic partnerships and collaborations to expand geographical reach, focus on strategic mergers and acquisitions and focus on increasing investments and facility expansions.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the kraft paper companies to focus on new paper packaging, focus on avoiding need for extra plastic, focus on product innovations, focus on technological advancements, focus on increasing investments in manufacturing capacities, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic partnerships and collaborations, provide competitively priced offerings in low-income countries , participate in trade shows and events, continue to use B2B promotions, increase adoption of internet and social media , promote use of alternatives to plastics, and continue to target fast-growing end-users.