As we all know, in 2020, the global economy suddenly encounter unexpected challenges. These challenges have affected global employment and product demand, and brought challenges to the supply chains of many industries.

In order to better control the spread of the epidemic, many companies have therefore closed down, and many countries, regions, or cities around the world are under lock down. The COVID-19 pandemic has simultaneously caused a disruption in supply and demand in our globally interconnected world. In addition, the historic hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean has caused business interruption and living hardship in the United States, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Over the past period of time, we have seen that consumers around the world are increasingly willing to change the way they buy goods, which has led to strong growth in e-commerce shipments and other door-to-door service businesses. The consumer goods industry is adapting to this change, which has brought both challenges and opportunities to our industry (for example, the continuous increase in corrugated packaging used for e-commerce transportation). As we continue to create value for customers through sustainable packaging products, we need to accept these changes and make timely adjustments to meet changing needs.

We have reason to be optimistic about 2021, because the recovery levels of several major economies are at different levels, and it is expected that more effective vaccines will be on the market in the next few months, so as to better control the epidemic.

From the first quarter to the third quarter of 2020, global container board production continued to grow, with an increase of 4.5% in the first quarter, an increase of 1.3% in the second quarter, and an increase of 2.3% in the third quarter. These figures confirm the positive trends shown in most countries and regions in the first half of 2020. The increase in the third quarter was mainly due to the production of recycled paper, while the production of virgin fiber lost momentum during the summer months, with an overall decline of 1.2%.

Through all these challenges, we have seen the whole industry work hard and provide cardboard products to keep important supply chains open to deliver food, medicines and other important supplies.