They warn of a possible global toilet paper shortage and it won’t be because of the coronavirus pandemic

Yes we are facing an early shortage of toilet paper and this time it is not because of the thousands of people who, for some strange reason, face the alert of any potentially catastrophic event, like the coronavirus pandemic, going out in droves to buy quantities and quantities of toilet paper making it drip all over the place.

No, this time it doesn’t have to do with paranoid people but with a much more structural problem. It turns out that The largest producer of wood pulp, the raw material for several products essential to our daily lives such as tissue paper, has warned that the global shipping container crisis could soon create supply problems.

This company, named Suzano SA, mainly ships its wood pulp in cargo ships known as “Fractional load” But with the growing demand for ships carrying ribbed steel containers, the pressure is starting to spread to bulk carriers, threatening to delay the company’s shipments.

This was expressed by the executive director of Suzano SA, Walter Schalka, in an interview with Bloomberg in which he explained that This is all happening at a time when the demand for toilet paper in residences has increased and consumers have started stocking existing units in the wake of the pandemic panic.

Schalk raises another concern that the navigation problem is turning into a snowball which only makes the problem worse. If there are significant disruptions in the pulp trade, he explains, it could affect toilet paper supplies as producers do not have enough stocks to meet demand..

Sao Paulo-based Suzano is already concerned about the risk of exporting less than the company had forecast in March, forcing it to postpone some shipments until April. This outlook is not encouraging, as with increasing competition for freighters, freight fractions are docking at company terminals less frequently than usual.

“All South American players who export via break bulk are faced with this risk”, He said.

Brazilians are the world’s largest suppliers of wood pulp and Suzano is a company that accounts for about a third of the world’s supplies of this raw material, so a supply issue for its flagship product is something we should be concerned about.

The container crisis is triggered by huge demand from China and has been going on for months. But Suzano’s warning is one of the first major signs showing the fallout in other shipping markets.

This disruption in the freight market is wreaking havoc on global trade, especially in the case of food and agricultural products. Port traffic has become entangled, freight costs have increased and deliveries have slowed around the world.

If this contraction continues to increase freight costs It will also increase the specter of accelerated inflation and have a significant impact on countries’ economies.

All this to remember that, please, when you go to the supermarket, do not buy all the toilet paper, because while the impending shortage may not be directly related to the pandemic, it can be accelerated. thanks to the panic of the compulsive shopper. , a disease as viral as COVID-19.

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