HELSINKI, May 31, 2023 (PIX Pulp & Paper Indices) - Following a consultation period, Fastmarkets has made a decision on its proposal to launch PIX containerboard price indices, covering the main grades testliner and fluting, in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries on June 6.

The containerboard market in the Gulf area is growing and there is currently no published price coverage there. We have observed an interest in market information, sufficient to warrant an independent price index series. Fastmarkets has successfully carried out a pilot program for testing the validity of local monthly testliner and fluting price indices in the GCC countries since September. The GCC countries include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The consultation on this proposal began on April 6 and ended on May 18. The majority of feedback received during the consultation period has been supportive of a launch.

The specifications for PIX Testliner GCC and PIX Fluting GCC are as follows:

Description: PIX Containerboard Testliner Delivered GCC USD/tonne
Description: PIX Containerboard Fluting Delivered GCC USD/tonne
Basis weight: 125 g/m²+
Unit: Metric ton
Quantity: Minimum 25 metric tons of prime quality in reels
Typical furnish: Recovered paper, primarily old corrugated containers (OCC)
Location: Produced in and delivered to: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Imports from outside of the GCC countries are excluded.
Incoterm: Delivered to a buyer’s corrugated box/converting plant or warehouse. Most commonly DAP (delivered at place), i.e., the seller handles export and transit country formalities, while the buyer is responsible for import formalities.
Timing: Final price agreed for trades intended for delivery during the data month.
Currency: USD
Payment terms: Net payment terms.
Duties: Customs and other duties paid. Excluding VAT.
Price type: Net price.
Publication: Monthly. At noon Helsinki time (EET/EEST) on the first Tuesday of the following month. (E.g.: The March index is published on the first Tuesday of April.) If Tuesday falls on a public holiday in Finland, the index will be published on the first working day thereafter. Major holidays in the GCC region may impact the publishing schedule. Please see the PIX publishing calendar at foex.fi.

The indices are based on actual transaction data from both buyers and sellers of containerboard. Weighting between price providers is achieved by assigning more price points to larger buyers/sellers than to smaller ones. PIX is a price average of all prices reported in the GCC region. Before calculating the arithmetical average, we remove the highest and lowest 10% of the number of price points.

A full methodology with detailed specifications can be found here.

To provide feedback on this notice or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter, please contact Eva Nyman by email at: pricing.foex@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading ‘PIX Containerboard GCC’.