UAE Paper Industry Defies Supply Chain Shocks
Regional industry stalwarts assemble at ProPaper Dubai 2026 to discuss way forward, sustainability, and resilience amidst cost inflation across raw material procurement and shipping, while exports are hit by geopolitical bottlenecks
UAE paper mills shift priorities focusing on domestic market and neighbouring GCC countries
Players in the $2 billion UAE paper industry are realigning their strategies to sustain growth, pivoting towards domestic and neighbouring GCC markets to counter geopolitical headwinds, rising raw material costs, and logistics bottlenecks hampering exports to global markets.
Experts at ProPaper 2026, a premier B2B trade show in Dubai, noted that the UAE paper industry remains resilient and stable, thanks to high-impact government support through a slew of measures, including ‘Green Corridors’ and alternative supply chain routes designed to ease gridlocks following disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz.
“Initiatives such as Make it in the Emirates provide a strong foundation. But our ambition should extend beyond increasing manufacturing capacity,” says Abdelrahman Obaid, Group CEO, M.A.H.Y. Khoory & Co. “We should ask what material capabilities our region must develop in order to compete with the industries of tomorrow. By connecting resource recovery, manufacturing, and material innovation, we can build stronger industrial ecosystems and create greater regional value.”
Echoing this strategic realignment, Majid Rasheed, Managing Director of Star Paper Mill, says, “Our immediate priority is to serve the domestic UAE market, where our products have received a positive response in terms of quality, service, and reliability of supply. We have also begun exporting to neighbouring GCC markets by road. However, road freight remains expensive, while sea exports are currently commercially unviable because of the prevailing logistics disruptions and elevated shipping costs.”
Hamad Abdulla Al Ghurair, Senior Vice President of Special Projects & Commercial at Al Ghurair Foods & Resources International, says, “For the UAE, supply chains are more than just the movement of goods. They are the lifelines that keep our economy moving, our industries operating, and our people supplied with the essentials they need every day.
“This year, our supply chains have been tested as never before. And yet, the UAE’s supply chains continued to function. Our markets remained supplied, our economy continued to operate, and the country demonstrated remarkable resilience. That did not happen by chance. It was the result of decisions taken well before the crisis, as well as swift and coordinated action during it. Today, geography may define our challenges, but it does not have to define our limits.”
Paper mills across the UAE are grappling with severe cost inflation, driven by an over 32% spike in imported pulp prices and a staggering three-to-fourfold increase in shipping and transportation costs.
Prior to the shipping disruptions, the regional paper industry experienced one of its strongest growth phases in 2025, fuelled by rapid e-commerce expansion and surging demand for paper packaging. According to Grand View Research, paper packaging demand grew at 5% last year, pushing the broader Middle East market value to $17.43 billion—up from $16.7 billion in 2024. Within the region, the GCC market reached an estimated $13 billion, led primarily by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
“ProPaper 2026 has been conceived as a platform for showcasing and highlighting the long-term vision and resilience of the UAE paper industry. Innovation and sustainability are two key drivers of growth for the paper industry and ProPaper provides an opportunity to industry players to collaborate on these fronts,” says Jeen Joshua, Managing Director of VERIFAIR, the co-organiser of the event, along with DuPAT.
