Packaging Industry Daily | Holiday Stock-Up Begins, Paper Prices Show "A Tale of Two Markets

Entering September, with the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day approaching, the e-commerce industry's advance stock-up window has opened simultaneously, ushering in the traditional peak season for the packaging industry. Recently, Nine Dragons Paper's five major bases in Taicang, Dongguan (September 10), Quanzhou (September 12), Tianjin and Hebei (September 14) uniformly issued price increase notices, raising corrugated paper prices by 50 yuan/ton, which is seen as a defensive price-support signal released by paper companies before the holidays.

The camp of followers is rapidly expanding: Shanying Paper's Zhejiang/Anhui bases have raised corrugated paper by 50 yuan/ton starting September 11; Wuzhou Special Paper has raised White Rhino packaging paper products by 50 yuan/ton starting September 14; Hubei Rongcheng Environmental Technology has raised all paper grades by 50 yuan starting September 14; Jintian Paper (Jiangsu) has raised Jinbo-brand eco-friendly kraft linerboard and high-strength corrugated paper by 50 yuan/ton starting September 14; Anhui Linping, Shandong Renfeng, Baixiang County Huaxing Paper and many other paper companies have also successively issued price adjustment notices of 50 yuan/ton, covering categories including corrugated paper, kraft linerboard and containerboard.

From a fundamental perspective, Shanying International believes that as consumption nodes such as the Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day and "Double 11" arrive one after another, downstream packaging enterprises are concentrating their stock-up, compounded by the continued resilience of foreign trade export demand and the continuous weakening of imported paper's impact, demand for containerboard and corrugated paper has room for sustained upward growth; a Huatai Securities research report also shows that in July, containerboard and corrugated paper prices, shipment conditions and inventories all improved year-on-year, and the short-term downside for paper prices is limited.

In contrast to corrugated paper's peak-season price increases, the white card paper market continues its downward trend since mid-July. As of September 10, the domestic market average price of 250–400g flat sheet white card paper was 3889 yuan/ton, down 1.64% from the end of last month; supply-side pressure has not yet eased, paper mill inventories remain high, terminal demand is "weak in peak season," and traders' shipment prices continue to be lowered by 50–150 yuan/ton.

Looking at the first half of the year, the prices of major paper grades in the papermaking industry showed a "fire and ice" pattern: according to Zhuochuang Information monitoring, the packaging paper sector performed outstandingly, with white board paper and containerboard achieving simultaneous increases in volume and price; the market average price of AA-grade 120g high-strength corrugated paper was 2820 yuan/ton, up 5.15% year-on-year, with prices climbing from a low of 2667 yuan/ton in late January all the way to 3154 yuan/ton in late June; while the cultural printing paper market continued to face pressure, with white card paper and wood pulp tissue paper declining to varying degrees.

The EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) has been mandatorily enforced since August 12, 2026: ordinary corrugated cartons exported to the EU are required to use single paper-based materials and reduce plastic lamination; e-commerce/retail parcels must have empty space volume not exceeding 50%; violating companies face fines of 2%–6% of annual turnover and may be banned from entry. At the same time, the EU has further restricted the use of PFAS substances in food-contact packaging, making fluorine-free alternative materials a mandatory course for export enterprises.

The US market has also sent regulatory signals: Oregon's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) bill won a milestone victory in federal court, accelerating the implementation of the packaging recycling responsibility system. For domestic packaging enterprises, green compliance has shifted from a "bonus item" to an "entry ticket"——eco-friendly materials, lightweight structures and single-material solutions will become the basic threshold for taking export orders.

Industry reports show that in 2026, the small-batch customized packaging business with order volumes of 500–5000 units has seen a compound annual growth rate exceeding 25% for three consecutive years, far outpacing the growth rate of the traditional large-batch packaging market. Digital printing, standardized die-cutting and flexible production lines make small-batch, multi-batch and rapid trial-and-error possible, and the packaging industry is shifting from "economies of scale" to "economies of scope," which also brings structural opportunities for high-value-added customized factories such as gift boxes and color boxes.

At the international level, the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) has officially designated September 6 each year as "World Packaging Day," with the first global celebration held on September 6, 2026, focusing on the role of packaging in food security, healthcare, trade and sustainable development, and promoting the circular economy and recycling as a global consensus.

• Yuto Technology: Revenue in the first half of 2026 was 8.214 billion yuan, with net profit attributable to shareholders of 589 million yuan, both ranking first among 22 comparable companies (second place Hexing Packaging had revenue of 5.522 billion yuan); it recently obtained another patent related to "packaging box locks," continuing to strengthen structural innovation.
• Meiying Sen: Was granted a patent for "a packaging bag formed from a single sheet of paper" (authorization announcement number CN224690670U), marking another breakthrough in material forming technology.
• Zhejiang Xinya: Was granted an invention patent for "a packaging box information interaction method based on NFC multi-tag linkage," accelerating its smart packaging layout; in the same month, it successively won bids for COFCO Fortune edible oil label redesign and China Resources Group's centralized procurement of carton materials.
• Jiamei Packaging: Its fourth extraordinary shareholders' meeting in 2026 approved the semi-annual profit distribution plan, with a cash dividend of 0.40 yuan per 10 shares (tax included), record date September 18 and ex-dividend date September 21.
• Demand side: Three Squirrels launched its 2026 color-printed carton procurement, a clear signal of surging orders for snack food packaging.

September is the "golden month for exhibitions" in the packaging industry, with multiple heavyweight events taking the stage in succession: the Electronic Industry Packaging Technology Committee of the China Packaging Federation held the "AI-Driven Green Electronic Packaging Innovation Forum," and simultaneously released the 2026 group standard review conclusion announcement; the 2026 Plastic Packaging Industry Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Green Development Forum and the 4th Annual Meeting of the Plastic Packaging Branch are also in preparation.

Entering Q4, two major industry exhibitions deserve close attention: 2026 Shenzhen Gift Packaging Printing Exhibition (October 20–23, Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center, 300,000 sqm exhibition hall, 500 packaging exhibitors); 2026 World Packaging (Shanghai) Expo interpack China (November 16–18, Shanghai New International Expo Centre, exhibition area of 100,000 sqm, expected 40,000+ professional visitors). In addition, TOKYO PACK 2026 (October 14–16) will also open, ushering international packaging procurement and technology exchange into peak season.