Vietnam's paper industry projects to produce 1.13 million tonnes of paper and 905,000 tonnes of pulp this year, according to the Vietnam Paper Association.

If the industry meets these expectations, it would represent an increase of 18 per cent over 2006, and mark the highest growth rate in the industry over the past decade.

Domestic production was likely to meet demand for printing and writing paper, tissue and newsprint.

While production of packing paper was increasing markedly and expected to meet domestic demand, some kinds of paper still have to be imported.

The nation was expected to import 232,000 tonnes of pulp and 914,000 tonnes of paper this year, the association reported.

Production of packing paper was expected to triple this year as the introduction of new technologies has greatly increased capacity.

The quantity of imported packing paper will fall accordingly, to about 155,000 tonnes, about 87 per cent of last year's amounts.

Paper Association chairman Nguyen Sy Dong believes that paper prices would increase this year, although he was unable to forecast the exact increase.

Last year, the industry faced difficulties as fuel costs and pulp prices increased through most of the year.

The Vietnam Paper Corporation has forecasted revenue of about 3.8 trillion VND (US$237 million) this year, about 8.9 per cent over last year.

The corporation projects production of 266,540 tonnes of paper, 5.6 per cent more than in 2006.

This year, the corporation plans to invest in key projects such as the Thanh Hoa Paper and Pulp Co facility and expand the capacity of the Bai Bang Paper Co.

Last year, although facing higher raw material costs, the corporation still met many of its targets. The corporation earned 3.5 trillion VND (US$212 million), an increase of 15.7 per cent over 2005. The corporation's export turnover stood at 20.8 million USD in 2006, its best year yet for exports.