Ilim Group, the Russian manufacturer of pulp, paper and corrugated products, is becoming a key market player in Southwest China.
The group signed an agreement with Xiamen C&D corporation, one of its key partners, on paperboard and pulp supply to the provinces in Southwest China via the Silk Road. As agreed, pulp will be supplied to paper mills in Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangxi provinces, as well as to Chongqing direct-administered municipality.
This project will allow Ilim Group to increase its export volumes significantly as part of the Belt and Road transportation and logistics system (the Silk Road). By 2024, Ilim Group plans to deliver to Southwest China up to 300,000 tons of paperboard and 180,000 tons of pulp per year.
“Enhancement of a large-scale use of the Belt and Road project is an important but in the meantime natural step for our company. Our long-term strategic partnership with Xiamen C&D made this step possible. Ilim has delivered more than 20 million tons of products to more than 500 mills in 20 regions of the People’s Republic of China. The agreement that has been signed today is a system element of Ilim’s strategy aimed to increase production volumes and ensure growth of our Chinese partners”, said Ksenia Sosnina, Ilim Group CEO.
Implementation of Ilim’s investment program will allow to satisfy the growing demand for packaging materials. By 2025, Ilim Group will increase aggregate output of its mills by 1m tons of finished products. Construction of a new mill in Ust-Ilimsk, with a capacity of 600,000 tons, is one of Ilim’s key projects which will be completed in 2022. Proximity of its Siberian Mills to China gives Ilim another competitive advantage.
