Several paper companies have collectively announced a price increase for special paper. The price of digital transfer paper has been raised twice in a single month.

On March 21, several paper companies, including Shandong Sun Paper (002078.SZ) and Wuzhou Special Paper Group (605007.SH), issued price adjustment notices. Due to the increase in raw materials and other comprehensive costs, they announced a price increase of 500 yuan/ton for their digital paper products starting from March 21. On the same day, Xianhe Co., Ltd. (603733.SH) also issued a price adjustment letter, stating that starting from March 21, their supply of digital transfer paper products would increase by another 500 yuan/ton on top of the price increase on March 5. This means that the digital transfer paper category has already experienced two rounds of price increases in March, with a total increase of 1000 yuan/ton. This round of price increase is not an isolated event. According to earlier reports by Caixin, in early March 2026, several leading paper companies, including Shandong Sun Paper, Wuzhou Special Paper Group, Huatai Paper, and Jianghe Paper, had already announced price increases of 300 yuan/ton for their white kraft paper products starting from March 5. In the earlier months of January and February, the white board and household paper sectors had already completed a round of price increases, with the white board paper increasing by 200 yuan/ton and household paper by 100 yuan/ton. Cost pressures are the core drive behind this round of price increases. According to reports from Securities Star on March 6, overseas pulp enterprises continue to raise the price of broadleaf pulp, with Brazil's Suzano estimating the latest price to be around 605 US dollars/ton, an increase of over 100 US dollars from the low point in July of last year. At the same time, Suzano announced a further reduction in commodity pulp production by 3.5% in 2026, while Indonesia's revocation of plantation permits has led to a reduction of around 400,000 tons in mainstream pulp production, further tightening supply and supporting pulp prices. According to Sublime China Information data, as of March 3, the average prices of imported softwood pulp and broadleaf pulp in the domestic market were 5241 yuan/ton and 4565 yuan/ton, respectively. In terms of industry structure, the concentration of the specialty paper market is relatively high, with leading companies like Xianhe Co., Ltd. and Wuzhou Special Paper Group having a strong pricing power. China Galaxy Securities pointed out that at the beginning of 2026, the paper industry has a strong intention to support prices, with leading paper companies strengthening price expectations through "multiple price increases in one letter." The paper industry outlook report released by CIC International in February 2026 also pointed out that specialty paper, due to its advantages in segmented areas and strong pricing power, has become an important direction for the industry, but attention should be paid to the impact of future capacity additions on the supply-demand situation.