One ton of pulp, two prices: $1,710 or $722?

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In 2025, one producer's annual report showed softwood pulp averaging $1,710 a ton on list in North America and $722 a ton net in China. It was the same grade. This post explains why one grade has two published prices, and why that gap will shrink on paper in March 2027.

Published October 27, 2026 · Facts as of October 27, 2026 · 8 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.

$1,710Average North American list price for northern bleached softwood kraft in Mercer's 2025 report, per air-dry metric ton ¹

$722Average net price for the same grade in China in Mercer's 2025 report, per air-dry metric ton ¹

Over 50%Discounts off gross and list prices in Europe and North America currently stand at over 50%, Fastmarkets says ³

March 2027Fastmarkets starts new European and North American prices, 40% and 45% lower ⁴

The 60-second version

What is it?

Pulp has more than one kind of published price. A list price is the producer's first asking price. The effective list price, usually called the gross price in Europe, is the monthly contract baseline before discounts. A net price is what the buyer actually pays after discounts ².

Why does it matter?

Europe and North America quote list or gross prices and then give large discounts. China quotes net prices ^2,3. If you compare a list price with a net price, you compare two different things.

How does it work?

A buyer in Europe agrees a yearly discount off the monthly gross price ³. A buyer in China negotiates a net price, usually every month ⁵. Mercer says that once discounts are taken off, its net prices in China end up similar to other markets ¹.

Myth or fact?

"Pulp in China sells at less than half the price paid in North America."

See the answer

Mostly myth. The $1,710 North American figure is a list price before discounts. The $722 China figure is a net price after discounts. Mercer says its net sales prices in China end up generally similar to other markets ¹.

In this post

1. Where do the two numbers come from?
2. What is the difference between list, gross, net and spot prices?
3. Why are the discounts so large?
4. How fast do net prices move?
5. What changes in March 2027?
6. How should a buyer or lender compare two pulp prices?

01Where do the two numbers come from?

Both numbers come from one company report. Mercer International, an exporter with mills in Germany and Canada, makes northern bleached softwood kraft pulp, the grade traders call NBSK. Its annual report for 2025 gives three average prices per air-dry metric ton: $1,525 list in Europe, $1,710 list in North America and $722 net in China ¹.

The same table for 2024 shows the same pattern: $1,519 list in Europe, $1,646 list in North America and $774 net in China ¹. So the gap is a steady feature of how pulp is quoted. It is not a one-year event.

Mercer explains the difference in plain words. Its sales in Europe and North America are based on quoted list prices, net of customer discounts and rebates. Its sales to China and Asia are based closer to quoted prices that are already net ¹.

Chart

Average NBSK prices reported by Mercer, 2025

US dollars per air-dry metric ton. Source: Mercer International, Form 10-K for 2025 ¹. List prices are before customer discounts; the China price is net.

02What is the difference between list, gross, net and spot prices?

Fastmarkets, which publishes the PIX pulp price indices, uses four terms ². The list price is the producer's first asking price. The effective list price is the agreed monthly contract baseline before discounts; in Europe it is usually called the gross price. The net price is what the buyer pays after all discounts. A spot price is the price paid for pulp sold without a long-term contract ².

Fastmarkets says the effective list price dominates in North America and Europe, while the net price is the standard convention in China ².

Compare

Four kinds of pulp price

Definitions from Fastmarkets ².

Price type	What it means	Where it is used
List price	The producer's first asking price.	Published by producers.
Effective list or gross price	The agreed monthly contract baseline, before discounts.	North America and Europe (called gross in Europe).
Net price	What the buyer pays after all discounts.	The standard convention in China.
Spot price	The price for pulp sold without a long-term contract.	Uncommitted cargoes.

03Why are the discounts so large?

Most contracts in Europe and North America are written as a gross or effective list price minus a discount that is agreed once a year, Fastmarkets says ³. Over time, those discounts have grown. Fastmarkets says they "currently stand at over 50%" ³.

The discount is part of each buyer's commercial terms and is set per buyer, so two buyers paying the same list price can pay very different net prices. That is why the list price alone says little about what a buyer actually pays.

China works differently. Net prices there are settled after discounts that are negotiated, usually every month ⁵. Fastmarkets' China net price is after monthly discounts, but before any quarterly or annual rebates, and it leaves out spot deals and sales inside one group ⁹.

Most European and North American pulp contracts are a gross or list price minus a yearly discount, Fastmarkets says.

04How fast do net prices move?

Net prices in China can move a lot in a short time. Fastmarkets assessed South American hardwood pulp delivered to China at $850 to $860 a ton in late 2022. In June 2023, its China hardwood net index averaged $500.03 ⁶. In June 2025 the range was $500 to $510, down from $740 to $750 a year earlier ⁶.

The customs data shows the same swings in a different way. China's imported bleached hardwood had an average customs value of $736 a ton in 2018 and $461 in 2020, as reported by China ⁷. Customs values include freight and insurance, and they are averages of all shipments in a year, so they are not market prices. But they show that the value of a ton can fall by a third or more within two years.

Chart

South American hardwood pulp, net price delivered to China

• Hardwood (BHK), net CIF China

US dollars per ton, midpoint of Fastmarkets' assessed range. Source: Fastmarkets reports, December 2021 to June 2025 ⁶. Points are dated assessments, not a continuous series; June 2023 is the PIX monthly average ($500.03). Midpoints are our arithmetic.

05What changes in March 2027?

Fastmarkets decided on July 21, 2026, to reset its benchmarks ⁴. New European gross prices will be 40% lower than the current gross prices. New North American effective list prices will be 45% lower than current list prices ⁴. The new prices start in March 2027 and run beside the old ones until December 31, 2027, when the old series stop ⁴.

The reset changes the published reference prices, not the pulp. Fastmarkets says its aim is to reduce the gap between published benchmark levels and the prices ultimately paid. The gap between a European gross price and a China net price will look much smaller on paper.

This matters for any contract or loan that refers to a Fastmarkets list or gross index. A contract that says "list price minus 50%" would give a very different number if the list price itself falls by 40% or 45%. Such contracts need to be checked before March 2027. See the pulp watch for the dated list of changes.

• Dec 31, 2027Fastmarkets stops the old European gross and North American list series ⁴.
• Mar 2027New reset prices start: European gross 40% lower, North American effective list 45% lower ⁴.
• Jul 21, 2026Fastmarkets publishes its final decision on the reset ⁴.
• 2Q 2026Suzano reports an average net price of $599 a ton for all the pulp it sold ⁸.

06How should a buyer or lender compare two pulp prices?

Before you compare two prices, check what each one is. A buyer, a seller and a lender should all ask the same questions. The checklist below sets them out.

For how prices are set in a trade finance deal, and how a lender looks at price and buyer risk, see how trade finance is priced and structured commodity finance in the Ossiano Trade Finance Guide.

Checklist

Five questions before you compare two pulp prices

• List or net?A list or gross price is before discounts. A net price is after discounts.
• Which grade?Softwood and hardwood are priced differently. In the second quarter of 2026, Suzano reported a gap of $55 a ton between softwood and hardwood in China and $288 a ton in Europe, on gross prices ⁸.
• Delivered where?A price delivered to China includes freight and insurance (CIF). A price at the seller's port does not (FOB). Both are Incoterms rules.
• Which month?Net prices in China are usually negotiated every month ⁵, and they can move by hundreds of dollars a year.
• Old or new index?From March 2027, Fastmarkets publishes reset European and North American prices beside the old ones until December 31, 2027 ⁴.

What this means for traders

• Never compare a list price with a net price. Ask which one you are looking at.
• Check every contract, loan or hedge that refers to a Fastmarkets list or gross index before March 2027.
• Net prices in China can move by a third within a year, so the value of stock and receivables can change fast. A forward contract or futures position can cover part of that risk.

Questions traders ask

Is pulp really cheaper in China than in North America?

Not by as much as the list prices suggest. Mercer's 2025 averages were $1,710 a ton on list in North America and $722 net in China, but the North American figure is before discounts. Mercer says its net sales prices in China end up generally similar to other markets.

What is a gross price for pulp?

In Europe, the gross price is the agreed monthly contract baseline before discounts. Fastmarkets calls the same idea the effective list price in North America.

How large are pulp discounts in Europe and North America?

Fastmarkets says discounts off gross and list prices currently stand at over 50%. Each buyer agrees its own discount, usually once a year.

What does the 2027 Fastmarkets reset change?

From March 2027, new European gross prices are 40% lower and new North American effective list prices are 45% lower than the current ones. The old series run beside the new ones until December 31, 2027.

Does the reset change what buyers pay?

Not by itself. It changes the published reference price. But any contract written as an index minus a discount will need its discount reviewed, or the price will change.

Read next

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• Start hereWhy countries' pulp numbers don't match
• 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.

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Sources and notes

1. Mercer International Inc., Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, Item 1, NBSK pulp pricing (annual average prices, 2025 and 2024; list and net basis). https://de.mercerint.com/wp-content/uploads/MERC_10K_2025_DEC31.pdf
2. Fastmarkets, Understanding pulp price types and what they measure, April 29, 2026. https://www.fastmarkets.com/?p=121599
3. Fastmarkets, FAQs: North American pulp prices, July 2026. https://www.fastmarkets.com/uploads/2026/07/FAQs-NA-pulp-prices.pdf
4. Fastmarkets, Final decision on consultation to reset European, North American pulp benchmark prices, July 21, 2026. https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/final-decision-on-consultation-to-reset-european-north-american-pulp-benchmark-prices/
5. Fastmarkets, Price Methodology, Global Pulp, August 2026. https://www.fastmarkets.com/uploads/2026/08/FM_Price_Methodology_Global_Pulp_August_2026-1.pdf
6. Fastmarkets, PPI Asia, Vol. 28 No. 24, June 27, 2025, and earlier dated Fastmarkets pulp reports (December 2021 to January 2025). https://www.fastmarkets.com/uploads/2025/07/PPIA_24_2025.pdf
7. UN Comtrade, imports reported by China, HS 470329 (bleached hardwood kraft pulp), 2015 to 2025, value divided by net weight for rows with usable weights; downloaded October 2026 and checked by us. https://comtradeplus.un.org/
8. Suzano S.A., Earnings Release 2Q26, August 12, 2026. https://s201.q4cdn.com/761980458/files/doc_news/2026/08/Release/Earnings-Release_2T26_EN.pdf
9. Fastmarkets, PIX Pulp China Methodology, June 2026. https://www.fastmarkets.com/uploads/2026/06/PIX_Pulp_China_Methodology_June2026.pdf

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.

About this post. Prepared for Ossiano Capital. People planned, researched, wrote and checked this post, using AI tools to help with research and checking. You are welcome to quote or reuse it: please credit Ossiano Capital and link to this page.