5. Market and Competition

5.1 Industry Forecast
The paper industry is closely related to the development of national economy and people’s life, and has always occupied an important place in the world industries. According to the well-known Morgan Stanley Investment and Consulting Company for the world important industries, the forest and paper industry ranked third. The majority of developed countries and some large countries with growing populations all pay attention to the development of their paper industry, keeping up the same growth rate as the national economy. Industrialized countries such as USA, Japan, Canada and Northern European countries have all made it a pillar backbone industry. TCF bleached paper will be increasingly favored with the growing awareness for environmental protection and health. The scientific experiments and daily use indicate that the hemp fiber has a distinctive killing and restraining action on the growth of colibacillus, staphylococcus aureus, pseudomonas aeruginosa, white cocci, penicillium, aspergilli, gypsum-like trichophytosis, etc. The hemp fibers contain over 10 different kinds of trace elements, as tested by high frequency plasma emission spectrometric method, so that TCF bleached paper from this patent’s technology is a most clean, beneficial product for environmental protection and health.
It was reported the "The Chem Engineer" (2000.7) that "the great challenge in the early 1990s made the paper industry to have second thoughts, encouraging people to develop other TCF bleaching processes. This development shows that the chemical pulp mill can practically eliminate the discharge of chlorinated organic substances. It is reported that by the year 2003, production of bleached pulp of ECF and TCF will account to 75% of all the world’s bleached pulp".
The Japanese Environmental Protection Board has published an action plan against marine pollution. The Japanese paper industry has planned to eliminate chlorinated organic compounds from the discharge effluents of 12 pulp and paper mills by the year 2005. European markets, especially those of Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Netherlands, prefer to import TCF(*) pulp (*Totally Chlorine Free bleaching).
The output of world paper and paperboard in 1999 was 315’712 million tons, of which the bleached paper accounts of 50%. Its output reached 150 million tons. The production of TCF paper was 5 million tons, so it has very bright market prospects.

5.2 Analysis of Competitors
The TCF bleaching technology is still in its developing stages, in the global economy, because a number of Western countries had some regulations by national law, forbidding growth of hemp. The output of hemp decreased, year after year, and applied research on hemp tended to be stopped by the State. The prohibition of growing hemp was gradually removed: England in 1993, Germany and Canada in 1994,-1995, USA in 1996, followed by Netherlands, France, New Zealand and others. Presently, many countries are doing their best efforts to develop the TCF bleaching processes, among them Germany, Finland, Japan, etc.

5.3 Market Distribution
The plan is to export the pulp to Japan, the TCF bleached paper and paperboard are to be exported to Germany, Sweden, Austria, Netherlands and other European countries.