Pulp in five minutes: what it is and why the world ships 73 million tons of it

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In 2024, almost 73 million tons of wood pulp crossed a border, FAO says. That is 38.5% of all the pulp the world made, up from 16.3% in 1968. This post explains what pulp is, which kinds there are, what each is used for, and how it gets from a tree to a port.

Published October 27, 2026 · Facts as of October 27, 2026 · 9 min read · Sources listed at the end

Facts as of October 27, 2026. This page states the facts as they stood on that date. Figures, rules and company plans may have changed since publication. We review this guide every six months and update the pages.

Almost 73 million tonsWorld wood pulp exports in 2024 (72.8 million tons), FAO ¹

189.1 million tonsWorld wood pulp production in 2024, three times the 61.5 million tons of 1961, FAO ¹

38.5%Share of production that crossed a border in 2024, up from 16.3% in 1968, FAO ¹

41.9%China's share of world pulp imports in 2024 (30.3 of 72.2 million tons), FAO ¹

The 60-second version

What is it?

Pulp is wood broken down into its fibers, which are tiny threads of cellulose. Tissue, paper, boxes, diapers and some clothes are made from it ^21,22,23.

Why does it matter?

Almost 73 million tons of pulp crossed a border in 2024. That is 38.5% of world production ¹. One country, China, took 41.9% of world imports ¹.

How does it work?

Trees are cooked into pulp at a mill, pressed into bales and shipped in large cargoes. Pulp that a mill sells to other companies is called market pulp. One company estimates that about 71 million tons a year are sold this way ¹⁷.

Myth or fact?

"Most of the world's pulp is sold across borders."

See the answer

Myth. Almost 73 million tons crossed a border in 2024. That is 38.5% of the 189.1 million tons made ¹. Metsä Board estimates that about 106 of the 177 million tons used each year are used where they are made ¹⁷.

In this page

1. How much pulp does the world make and ship?
2. What is pulp, and why are there two main kinds?
3. Which pulp goes into which product?
4. How does a tree become a bale of pulp at a port?
5. How much pulp is sold, and how much stays at the mill?
6. Who buys the pulp?
7. Where should I read next?

01How much pulp does the world make and ship?

In 2024, the world made 189.1 million tons of wood pulp. That is three times the 61.5 million tons made in 1961 ¹. Trade grew faster. FAO's full trade data starts in 1968, when 15.0 million tons crossed a border. In 2024 the figure was almost 73 million tons (72.8 million) ¹.

So 38.5% of the pulp made in 2024 was sold across a border, against 16.3% in 1968 ¹. Exports grew almost five times between those years, while production about doubled ¹.

The map of makers changed too. In 2024 the United States still made the most pulp, 19.5% of the world total. China made 14.5% and Brazil 14.1% ¹. In 1961, Brazil made about 0.3 million tons. In 2024 it made 26.7 million tons ¹. China's production figures are FAO estimates.

Chart

World wood pulp: production and exports, 1961 to 2024

• Production
• Exports (from 1968)

Million tons. Source: FAOSTAT Forestry, item 1875 Wood pulp (downloaded October 2026). FAO trade data covers all wood pulp from 1968, so exports start in 1968.

02What is pulp, and why are there two main kinds?

Pulp is wood broken down into its fibers. Paper is a sheet of these fibers, pressed together and dried.

Softwood comes from pine and spruce, and its fibers are about 3 millimeters long. Hardwood comes from trees such as eucalyptus and birch. Birch fibers are about 1.1 to 1.2 millimeters long, and eucalyptus fibers about 0.95 millimeters ⁸. Metsä Fibre, a Finnish producer, says the long fibers of softwood give strength to the end product. Hardwood gives a smoother surface and takes up water well, the company says ⁷. Traders call the main grades NBSK (northern bleached softwood kraft) ²⁴ and BHKP (bleached hardwood kraft pulp). Eucalyptus pulp is often called BEK ²¹.

There are also two ways to make pulp. Groundwood pulp is made by grinding wood. Chemical pulp is made by cooking wood chips to remove lignin, the natural glue in wood. A standard pulping textbook gives the yield of bleached chemical pulp as 40% to 45% of the dry wood ⁹.

For centuries, paper came from old cotton and linen rags. In the 1850s, US rag imports doubled in just two years ³. In December 1843, Friedrich Gottlob Keller in Saxony first made pulp by grinding wood ⁴. In 1884, Carl Dahl received a US patent for cooking wood with sodium sulfate, and his stronger pulp became known as kraft ⁵. A US Forest Service review gives three reasons why kraft won: the paper is stronger, the cooking chemicals are recovered and used again, and all wood species can be pulped ⁶. The 180-year history of pulp has the full story, and how a kraft mill works explains the chemical loop.

03Which pulp goes into which product?

Each product needs a different pulp. Tissue is the largest use of market pulp. Suzano estimates that tissue used 30 million of the 65 million tons of bleached market pulp consumed in 2024. Fluff pulp used 6 million tons ¹⁶.

Dissolving pulp is the pulp for clothes. Sappi says viscose staple fiber provides more than 80% of the world's wood-based cellulose fiber ²³. Clothes from trees explains this path.

Because the grades differ, a contract that says only "pulp" leaves out the facts that set the price and the use. The grade name belongs in the contract.

Compare

Five kinds of pulp and what each is used for

Sources: Metsä Fibre ⁷, Mercer International ²⁴, Stora Enso ²⁰, Suzano ^21,22 and Sappi ²³.

Pulp	What it is	Main end uses
Softwood (NBSK)	Bleached kraft pulp from pine and spruce, with long fibers that give strength.	Tissue, specialty papers, printing and writing papers.
Hardwood (BHKP, BEK)	Bleached kraft pulp from eucalyptus or birch, with short fibers that give a smooth surface.	Tissue, printing and writing papers, packaging paper.
Dissolving pulp	A very pure pulp that is spun into fiber and then made into fabric.	Viscose and lyocell fibers, nonwovens, sponges.
Fluff pulp	Pulp made to soak up liquid.	Baby and adult diapers, sanitary pads, pet pads.
Unbleached kraft (UKP)	Kraft pulp that keeps its brown color.	Kraftliner, corrugated board, wrapping and sack papers.

04How does a tree become a bale of pulp at a port?

The journey has five steps. Each step takes a different amount of time, and someone owns the pulp at every step. Follow one bale tells the same story from a Brazilian eucalyptus tree to a tissue roll in China.

1. GrowSuzano says its eucalyptus forestry cycle in Brazil lasts about seven years ¹². In southern Finland, the normal forest cycle is 60 to 80 years ¹³.
2. CookLogs are cut into chips. The chips are cooked under pressure in white liquor, a mix of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide, which frees the fibers. The used liquor is burned in a recovery boiler, and the chemicals are used again ¹⁰.
3. Bleach and dryThe brown pulp is washed. Oxygen removes more lignin, then chlorine dioxide bleaches the pulp white. Machines dry it into sheets ¹¹.
4. BaleThe sheets are pressed into bales of about 250 kilograms. Eight bales are wired into a unit of about 2 tons ¹⁴.
5. ShipIn 2024, the Green Santos, then the world's largest specialized pulp ship, carried 72,000 tons of Suzano pulp from Santos to China. It left on March 4 and arrived on April 9, about five weeks later (our count of the days) ¹⁵.

Pulp travels in wired units of eight bales of about 250 kilograms, about 2 tons per unit ¹⁴.

05How much pulp is sold, and how much stays at the mill?

Many mills make pulp and turn it into paper on the same site. That pulp never leaves the mill. Pulp that a mill sells to other companies is called market pulp.

Metsä Board estimates, in an undated note, that the world uses about 177 million tons of virgin-fiber pulp a year. About 106 million tons is used where it is made, and about 71 million tons is sold ¹⁷. No year is given for these figures, so read them as an order of magnitude.

Suzano estimates that the world's demand for bleached market pulp was 67.7 million tons in 2025 ¹⁶. It reports that Chinese demand was 41% of global market pulp demand in 2025, citing the Pulp and Paper Products Council ¹⁸.

Chart

Where the world's pulp is used each year

Million tons of virgin-fiber pulp. Source: Metsä Board, Global pulp market, undated company estimate ¹⁷. The two parts add up to the 177 million tons the company gives.

06Who buys the pulp?

China imported 30.3 million tons in 2024, FAO says. That is 41.9% of the 72.2 million tons imported worldwide ¹. The United States came next with 6.3 million tons, then Germany with 4.7 million ¹.

China's own customs data show 32.5 million tons of pulp imports in 2025, up 64.5% from 19.8 million tons in 2015 ². Brazil's customs data show 22.3 million tons of Brazilian exports in 2025 ². In 2025, four of the five largest routes in our trade data ended in China ².

Pulp that sits at sea or in a port is stock that someone owns, and someone funds it until the buyer pays. One cargo from Brazil to China took about five weeks at sea in 2024 ¹⁵. At the end of June 2026, Chinese ports held about 2.7 million tons of pulp, Suzano reports ¹⁹. This is working capital tied up in stock. The payment terms between the exporter and the importer decide who carries it. For how lenders see this, read working capital and trade finance, inventory finance and the cash conversion cycle in the Ossiano Trade Finance Guide.

Chart

The 12 largest pulp importers in 2024

Million tons. Source: FAOSTAT Forestry, item 1875 Wood pulp (downloaded October 2026). European Union members in orange. China (mainland) excludes Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao.

07Where should I read next?

This post is the start of the series. Pick the question you care about most.

• To see who ships to whom, and how that changed from 2015 to 2025, read the pulp trade map.
• To learn why supply is moving to Brazil, read the tree race: 7 years in Brazil, 60 to 80 in Finland.
• To learn how pulp is priced, read one ton of pulp, two prices.
• To check how the numbers are built, read why countries' pulp numbers do not match.

Every post carries a date, and the series is reviewed every six months.

What this means for traders

• Name the grade, not just "pulp." Softwood, hardwood, dissolving, fluff and unbleached kraft are different products with different uses.
• Since 1968, the share of pulp that crosses a border has more than doubled, from 16.3% to 38.5%. More pulp now depends on ships, ports and payment terms.
• China took 41.9% of world pulp imports in 2024. A buyer, seller or lender should know how much of its trade ends in China.

Questions traders ask

What is wood pulp?

Wood pulp is wood broken down into its fibers, which are tiny threads of cellulose. Paper is a sheet of these fibers, pressed together and dried. Pulp is also the raw material for tissue, boxes, diapers and viscose fabric.

What is the difference between softwood and hardwood pulp?

Softwood pulp comes from pine and spruce. Its fibers are about 3 millimeters long and give paper strength. Hardwood pulp comes from trees such as eucalyptus and birch. Its fibers are about 1 millimeter long and give a smooth surface.

How much pulp does the world export?

FAO data show that almost 73 million tons of wood pulp were exported in 2024 (72.8 million tons). That is 38.5% of the 189.1 million tons made.

What is market pulp?

Market pulp is pulp that a mill sells to other companies. Pulp that is made into paper on the same site is called integrated pulp. Metsä Board estimates that about 71 of the 177 million tons used each year are sold on the market.

Which country buys the most pulp?

China. FAO data show that China imported 30.3 million tons in 2024, which is 41.9% of world imports. The United States was second with 6.3 million tons.

Read next

• Start hereThe pulp trade map: who ships to whom, 2015 to 2025
• Start hereFollow one bale: from a Brazilian tree to a tissue roll in China
• Inside the millHow a kraft mill works: the chemical loop that made modern pulp
• Inside the millThe tree race: 7 years in Brazil, 60 to 80 in Finland
• Makers and buyersChina: the largest buyer is building its own mills
• Money and rulesOne ton of pulp, two prices: $1,710 or $722?
• Ossiano Trade Finance GuideHow each trade finance instrument works
• GlossaryTrade finance terms in plain English

Buying or selling pulp across borders? Ossiano Capital works on trade finance for pulp and paper trades.

Start the Conversation

Sources and notes

1. FAOSTAT, Forestry Production and Trade, item 1875 Wood pulp, production, imports and exports in metric tons, all countries, 1961 to 2024 (FAO trade data covers all wood pulp from 1968); shares and ratios are our calculations; downloaded October 2026. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/FO
2. UN Comtrade, imports reported by China and exports reported by Brazil, HS 470100, 470200, 470311, 470319, 470321, 470329 and 470500, 2015 to 2025, routes use the exporter's data when it passes our checks and the importer's data otherwise; downloaded October 2026 and checked by us. 2025 data may be revised. https://comtradeplus.un.org/
3. Forest History Society, Stephen Cernek, Revising the origins narrative of the American wood pulp paper industry, Forest History Today, 2022. https://foresthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FHT_2022_Cernek_Myth_Has_Persisted_Wood_Pulp_Paper.pdf
4. Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, Friedrich Gottlob Keller (museum page, undated). https://mediengeschichte.dnb.de/DBSMZBN/Content/EN/Industrialisation/08-keller-friedrich-gottlob-en.html
5. US Patent Office, US Patent 296,935, C. F. Dahl, April 15, 1884; Britannica, Carl F. Dahl (on the name kraft). https://patents.google.com/patent/US296935A/en
6. USDA Forest Service, Carl Houtman, Lessons learned from 150 years of pulping wood, 2018. https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/56522.pdf
7. Metsä Fibre (Metsä Group), Pulp and softwood pulp product pages, undated, read October 17, 2026. https://www.metsagroup.com/metsafibre/products-and-services/pulp/
8. Saimaa University of Applied Sciences, Chhabin Pokhrel, Strength properties of pine compared with birch and eucalyptus, 2010 (fiber lengths). https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/23545/Pokhrel_Chhabin.pdf
9. Pulping fundamentals, textbook chapter (yield of bleached chemical pulp, 40 to 45% of dry wood). https://www.eng.uc.edu/~beaucag/WoodPapers/August%20Papers/Paper%20Making%20Book/Pulping%20part%201%2073620_03a.pdf
10. US Environmental Protection Agency, AP-42, Chapter 10.2, Chemical Wood Pulping, 1990 (the kraft process). https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2020-10/documents/c10s02.pdf
11. UPM, How the mill works, UPM Fray Bentos, Uruguay (cooking, washing, oxygen stage, chlorine dioxide bleaching, drying, baling). https://www.upm.uy/siteassets/documents/howmillworks.pdf
12. Suzano, Behind our innovation there is bio (forestry cycle of about seven years). https://biopulp.suzano.com.br/news/behind-our-innovation-there-is-bio
13. Finnish Forest Association, Rotation period in southern Finland (glossary). https://forest.fi/glossary/periodic-cover-silviculture-jaksollinen-metsankasvatus/
14. Mercer International, Mercer Stendal ECF product datasheet, June 2025 (bale and unit); Metsä Fibre, Metsä Pine KMI datasheet, June 2024. https://mercerint.com/wp-content/uploads/MPP.MS-Product-Datasheet-ECF-202505.pdf
15. Pulpapernews, The world's largest woodpulp specialized vessel completes its first journey to China, April 12, 2024 (the five weeks is our count of the days between March 4 and April 9). https://www.pulpapernews.com/en/node/15569
16. Suzano S.A., Suzano Day 2025 presentation, December 2025 (market bleached chemical pulp demand and end uses). https://s201.q4cdn.com/761980458/files/doc_news/2025/12/SuzanoDay/Suzano-Day-2025-Consolidado-V10_PDF-2.pdf
17. Metsä Board, Global pulp market, investor page, undated company estimate, read October 17, 2026. https://metsagroup.com/metsaboard/investors/operating-environment/pulp-market
18. Suzano S.A., Form 20-F for 2025, citing the Pulp and Paper Products Council (China's share of market pulp demand). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/909327/000090932726000045/suz-20251231.htm
19. Suzano S.A., Earnings Release 2Q26, August 12, 2026 (pulp stocks at Chinese ports). https://s201.q4cdn.com/761980458/files/doc_news/2026/08/Release/Earnings-Release_2T26_EN.pdf
20. Stora Enso, Pulp for paper, board and tissue, market pulp product page, undated. https://www.storaenso.com/en/products/market-pulp/pulp-for-paper-board-and-tissue
21. Suzano, Pulp products page (eucalyptus pulp end uses), undated, read October 17, 2026. https://suzano.com.br/en/products-and-brands/raw-material/pulp
22. Suzano via Business Wire, Suzano starts up new production line boosting its fluff pulp capacity, December 17, 2025. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251217648931/en
23. Sappi, Pulp products page (dissolving pulp, viscose), undated, read October 17, 2026. https://www.sappi.com/en-gb/products-services/products/pulp-products
24. Mercer International Inc., Form 10-K for 2024 (end uses of softwood kraft pulp, NBSK). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1333274/000095017025024217/merc-20241231.htm

Trade figures come from UN Comtrade (2015 to 2025, as reported by 10 countries) and FAOSTAT (1961 to 2024), checked and recalculated by us; each chart names whose data it uses. All tons are metric tons. All facts on this page are as of October 27, 2026, the date of publication, and may have changed since. For rules and tariffs, check the pulp watch before you act.

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