Paper consumption below European level

According to the Slovak Statistical Office's (ŠÚSR) forecast, the consumption of paper and cardboard in Slovakia should increase to 564,000 tons by 2005. Consumption per capita should reach 83 kilograms in 2000 and 104 kilograms in 2005, which equals the Austrian level from 1980 or German level from 1975. The long-term leader in this sphere is the U.S. with 333 kilograms per capita annually. Current consumption in western Europe is 171 kilograms per capita. ŠÚSR also announced that investments in the Slovak paper industry are forecasted to total 45 billion Sk by the year 2010. The sector's exports are expected to range between 12 and 15 billion Sk annually in the same period.