11/12/2008 14h47
Sales of cardboard paper had record with impulse of food industry
DCI - 11/12/2008
Sales of waved cardboard paper totaled 208.5 thousand tons in the month of October, a new monthly record registered by the indicator of business of the Brazilian Association of Waved Cardboard (ABPO). The result represents an expansion of 4.3% compared to October of 2007 and 6.5% over September of 2008, when 195.8 thousand tons were sold, according to the association. The year-to-date sales totaled a high of 1.7%, for a total of 1.931 million tons. The figures regarding October are preliminary ones. Cardboard paper sales, which reflect the demand for packages, can be seen as a thermometer of the sector of non-durable goods, such as food, hygiene and cleanness products. According to Paulo Sérgio Peres, president of the ABPO, the year-to-date data of the sector are within the projection for 2008 - already reviewed in the first half of the year, reducing the expectation of annual growth from 3% to between 1.5% and 2%. The president of the association attributed the positive result to the maintenance of non-durable goods sales, such as foods, which represent 35% of the sales of waved cardboard paper, hygiene and cleanness products, 8.3%, fruitculture 6%, poultry 5%, and beverages 3%. "They are the least affected by the crisis since they are not connected to credit", he explained. Besides, Peres still emphasizes the relevant harvest of the end of year that should produce good business for Northeast's exports, mainly in the productive region of the São Francisco River valley. According to the ABPO, the figures should remain in high in the month of November. As for the next year, the packaging sector expects a fall in sales in the beginning of 2009. "With or without crisis, which always affects the non-durable goods sector a lot less, it is normal to have some fall in December and January."
