The current situation

On a global scale, non-wood fibres are a minor part of raw material supply to paper and paperboard manufacture. In many countries, however, they are still widely used and are of significant importance in terms of overall volume and as a percentage of total pulp supply. The following table gives an idea of current use of non-wood fibres in papermaking in the 18 countries that account for nearly 98 percent of world supply:

Leading users of non-wood fibres in papermaking

Country	1993		1998 (estimate)
	Non-wood pulping capacity	Percentage of total pulping capacity	Non-wood pulping capacity	Percentage of total pulping capacity
	('000 tonnes)		('000 tonnes)
China	15246	86.9	16830	84.3
India	1307	55.5	2001	61.3
Pakistan	415	100	415	100
Mexico	321	29.2	324	29.3
Peru	298	95.2	296	95.2
Indonesia	267	22.1	267	10.1
Colombia	218	45.1	218	37.2
Thailand	209	100	509	100
Brazil	196	3.1	238	3.3
Venezuela	185	75.2	187	75.4
United States	179	0.3	204	0.3
Greece	150	85.7	160	84.2
Spain	140	7.9	141	7.7
Argentina	140	14.6	140	12.8
Egypt	127	100	127	100
Italy	120	13.3	120	13.3
Cuba	108	100	108	100
Turkey	103	16.5	103	16.5

Source: Oye et al., 1991.