Stone Paper Market is forecast to reach $14.26 billion by 2025, after growing at a CAGR of 3.5% during the forecast period from 2020-2025. Stone paper, also known as limestone paper, bio-plastic paper, mineral paper or rich mineral paper, is a type of strong and durable paper-like material. It is manufactured from calcium carbonate 80% (limestone) bonded with a small amount of resin high-density polyethylene (HDPE) 20%. Rising adoption of an environmental friendly and sustainable alternative to traditional paper is the major driving factor boosting the overall demand for stone paper.
Report Coverage
The report: “Stone Paper Market – Forecast (2020-2025)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Stone Paper Market.
Key Takeaways
- Asia-Pacific dominates the stone paper market owing to increasing demand from applications such as packaging and paper. Also, presence of major developing economies including China and India is majorly contributing to overall market growth.
- Increasing adoption of sustainable and environment-friendly products, implementation of stringent government regulations related to traditional paper will increase the market demand for stone paper in the near future.
- Increasing investment in R&D for the development of advanced manufacturing techniques using calcium carbonate and other similar organic compounds is expected to be a key driver promoting growth
- Further, increasing demand for packaging and labeling across the globe can positively impact the stone paper market in the forecast timeframe.
Environmental regulations on the mining of calcium carbonate in many developed countries will create hurdles for the stone paper market
By Application - Segment Analysis
Paper packaging segment held the largest share in the stone paper market in 2019. The rising demand for high quality and efficient labeling options, to enhance the aesthetics of the packaged product is expected to drive the paper packaging segment. Paper made from stone is tear-resistant, waterproof, insect-proof, grease-resistant, fire-resistant, mold-resistant and FDA-compliant food grade and hence widely used in paper packaging. As manufacturers being aware of advantages and cost-effectiveness of stone paper, it widely being used in paper packaging (green packaging).
By Product Type - Segment Analysis
Rich mineral paper double-coated stone paper (RPD) held a significant share in stone paper market in 2019. Owing to the increment in the demand of energy-saving technology, environmentally friendly materials, pollution-free products like notepads, hotel supplies magazines, books, paper bags, and others, the market for RPD is expected to grow during the forecast period. RPD has advantages of pulp and synthetic paper. By using common printing machines and methods, RPD can be easily printed. It also has water-resistant properties such as synthetic papers
Rich Mineral Board stone paper market is driven by rising in demand of environment- friendly and pollution-free plastics and paper board such as kid’s books, brochures, calendar, packaging, gift boxes, an album of paintings and outdoor applications. A higher resin up to 30% content makes RBD stiffer than RPD.
By Material - Segment Analysis
Calcium carbonate held a significant share in the stone paper market in 2019. Stone paper is made primarily from calcium carbonate which is being used as a filter and a coating pigment to produce brighter, whiter and glossier paper. Stone paper is manufactured by grounding calcium carbonate into a fine powder that forms up to 80% of the final product and mixed together with a small amount of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) that forms the rest of 20%.
HDPE is used as a binder in stone paper to hold the calcium carbonate together in flat sheets, and to give the finished product the foldable quality of the real paper. It does not use trees, water, chlorine, acids, or petroleum in its creation and hence the market for calcium carbonate usage in stone paper making is expected to have major growth.
Geography - Segment Analysis
APAC dominated the stone market with a share of more than 33%, followed by North America and Europe. Owing to the low production cost, easy availability of raw materials and high demand for environmental-friendly packaging materials, the market for stone paper in APAC is expected to grow during the forecast period. China dominates the market in Asia Pacific as it is one of the largest manufacturer and consumer of the product, owing to developing end-user markets as well as robust industrial policies.
Due to stringent environmental regulations by the government concerning the environment and the use of pulp-paper and plastic coupled with increasing technological advancements in stone paper manufacturing industry, significant growth of stone paper market in the North America region is witnessed. No forest management certification, such as Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is required for stone paper as no wood fiber is present.
Drivers – Stone Paper Market
- Positive Environmental Impact
One of the primary factors catalyzing the growth of the global stone paper market is the rising concerns for deforestation that has promoted the use of alternative paper composition. These environment-friendly initiatives to curtail deforestation have resulted in a positive impact on market growth. Stone paper is environmentally friendly as no trees are cut and no water is used, it has low carbon emissions and it requires no acid, base or bleach during the production of stone paper. Stone paper is recyclable, it needs to be recycled with Type 2 plastics because of HDPE. The stone paper is food-safe, non-toxic, fire-resistant, recyclable, complies with FDA standards and produces no air pollution and hence has a positive impact on environments that leads to market growth of stone paper during the forecast period.
Challenges – Stone Paper Market
- Environmental regulations and increasing demand for raw materials.
Environmental regulations on mining activities, which play a key role in the extraction of calcium carbonate hamper the growth of the market. The increasing demand for raw materials like HDPE from other industries such as bottles, piping and fuel tanks, and furniture, will affect the supply of the raw material for manufacturing the product in the forecast period.
Market Landscape
Technology launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the stone paper market. In 2019, the market of stone paper has been consolidated by the top five players accounting for xx% of the share. Top 10 companies in the Stone Paper Market are Stone Paper Company Ltd., Kapstone Paper, Gaia-Concept BV, Taiwan Lung Meng Technology Co. Ltd., Sòluz Stone Paper S.A., Packaging Corporation, Parax Paper, Gaiakraft, among others.
Acquisitions/Technology Launches
- In November 2018, WestRock Company, a leading provider of differentiated paper and packaging solutions, has completed the acquisition of KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation.
