RIYADH: Saudi Arabia produces nearly 3 million tonnes of paper waste annually, with a recycling rate of only around 50 percent, indicating the presence of significant investment opportunities in the sector, according to experts and producers interviewed by Al-Eqtisadiah at the second International Paper and Packaging Industry Exhibition in Jeddah.
Industry participants said the wastepaper market remains underutilized, with control largely held by individual brokers who collect wastepaper from factories at low prices ranging between SR500 ($133.30) and SR800 per tonne, then resell it to recycling plants at significantly higher prices.
Recycling factories then process and sell the recycled paper at values ranging between SR3,500 and SR3,800 per tonne. They noted that the lack of direct channels between producing factories and recycling facilities enables intermediaries to dominate the market.
Manufacturers said the difficulty of direct communication with recycling plants stems from their limited number, compared with the widespread presence of brokers who have warehouses capable of storing quantities gathered from multiple factories before selling them commercially.
They added that rising paper consumption and the growth of production facilities increase the volume of waste, making paper waste management an attractive investment opportunity in a market that continues to expand annually.
