How Did COVID-19 Affect Tissue Industry?
At first, many mills were forced to close in China, including all mills in Hubei Province. Meanwhile, larger companies were able to restart PMs outside of Hubei, to replace the lost production as consumers rushed to purchase toilet paper. Reports followed from Hong Kong and Australia documenting panic buying of tissue products. And in Hong Kong, the panic grew to such a level that a lorry loaded with toilet paper was hijacked.
When the virus started to spread to other regions, so did the panic buying and hoarding of tissue. Retailers in North America and Europe found it necessary to limit the amount of tissue purchased per customer to keep the shelves in stocked. In Germany, three trucks that belong to a famous tissue supplier with one of the country’s oldest brands were hijacked by people desperate for toilet paper.
In summary, we expect disparate trends for consumer and AfH. Consumer tissue is likely to experience a slower second half, offsetting the peak demand during the first half, while the AfH business could see a rebound in the last half of the year.