Materials & craft
Vietnam specialty paper: kraft, ivory board, food-grade
Kraft, ivory, food-grade — the specialty paper grades from Vietnamese mills and the FSC pulp story behind them.
Vietnam exports approximately 2.4 million tonnes of paper and paperboard annually. A growing share of that is specialty grade — not bulk newsprint or commodity tissue, but value-add product targeted at packaging, food service, and printing customers. Kraft liner. Brown unbleached liner used for corrugated packaging. Vietnamese mills produce 110–250 gsm in standard widths (1.6 m, 2.0 m, 2.5 m). FOB pricing competitive with Indonesian and Thai equivalents. Typical use: e-commerce shipping cartons, retail packaging. Test liner. Recycled fibre alternative to kraft. Lower cost, slightly lower burst strength. Standard for non-premium corrugated. Fluting medium. The wavy middle layer of corrugated. 100–180 gsm typical. Vietnamese supply is competitive but quality varies — request burst strength and CMT (Concora Medium Test) values upfront. Ivory board. White-coated multi-layer paperboard, 250–400 gsm. Used for cosmetic boxes, premium packaging, book covers. Increasingly competitive vs Korean and European supply. Food-grade greaseproof. Bleached or unbleached, FDA-compliant grease barrier. Used for fast-food wrappers, baking paper, food liners. Vietnamese supply is small but growing. Specialty printing paper. Coated and uncoated wood-free for premium catalogues, art books, packaging inserts. Vietnamese mills compete with Korean and Chinese supply on standard grammages. Pulp source. Vietnamese paper mills source pulp from a mix of: domestic eucalyptus and acacia plantations (FSC-certifiable), imported Chilean / Brazilian eucalyptus pulp (also FSC), and recycled fibre. For EU buyers under EUDR (EU Deforestation Regulation, in force from 2026), FSC chain-of-custody is the easiest compliance path. Lead times. Standard grades: 14–21 days from confirmed order. Custom grammages and finishes: 30–45 days. Mill MOQs typically start at 5–10 t per SKU. Sustainability angle. Vietnamese acacia plantations are short-rotation (6–8 year cycle) and increasingly FSC-certified. Vietnamese paper has a structurally lower embedded carbon footprint than long-rotation Northern Hemisphere alternatives once pulp source is verified. 5B Trading routes paper RFQs to mills with current FSC certification — required documentation accompanies sample shipment.
