Our dialogue with Mariano Saludjian started months before LatamCORR 2026 through correspondence and discussions. After his presentation in Buenos Aires, we finally had the opportunity to continue that conversation in person during a friendly interview about the future of the South American corrugated board industry.
Mariano Saludjian, General Manager of CAFCCO (the Argentine Corrugated Board Manufacturers Association), shared his view on the corrugated board market, key challenges and future opportunities for Argentina, Brazil and the wider region.
corruga.expert: The corrugated industry across South America appears to be entering a period of profound transformation. What are the key forces shaping the region today?
Mariano Saludjian: Several forces are converging at once: technology, geopolitics, changing consumption patterns and sustainability. Together, they are reshaping the logic of the global economy.
For South America, what makes this moment distinct is that these forces interact with the region’s structural condition as an exporting economy. The agribusiness backbone, forestry resources and industrial capacity give the region a specific position in this transition – not a passive one.
corruga.expert: How does the current global trade environment factor in?
Mariano Saludjian: The 2026 scenario is defined by fragmentation: persistent geopolitical conflicts, tariff disputes and a redefinition of international trade flows.
In many respects, what we are seeing today has parallels with the Nixon Shock of the early 1970s, when the United States abandoned the Bretton Woods system and restructured the global monetary order. Today, under different conditions, tariff-driven measures are again reshaping supply chains, global logistics and relations between economic blocs.
The rise in oil prices directly affects production and distribution costs. Instability in strategic maritime corridors forces companies to reorganise logistics, build inventories and rethink sourcing. Europe’s renewed interest in EU-Mercosur is also part of a wider strategy to secure supply and market access in an unstable environment.
corruga.expert: What does this mean specifically for corrugated board in South America?
Mariano Saludjian: It creates both risks and opportunities. Lower global economic dynamism and slower domestic consumption are constraints, but the region holds comparative advantages precisely in the sectors that generate the highest corrugated board volumes: agribusiness and food production.
Protein exports – bovine, porcine, poultry and fish – together with fruits, especially citrus and berries, garlic, legumes, peanuts and other agricultural products are primary demand drivers for the corrugated sector.
These products require strong, efficient packaging adapted to demanding international logistics. In many cases, these are export-grade boxes with high kraftliner consumption and strict technical specifications that domestic consumption segments do not impose.
corruga.expert: Brazil and Argentina are the two markets many readers watch most closely. What is the dynamic between them?
Mariano Saludjian: Brazil remains the dominant regional player in both paper production and corrugated board manufacturing. Its forestry capacity, industrial integration and agribusiness scale allow it to hold a leading position across South America.
When Brazil increases production and exports large volumes of kraftliner, Argentina gains access to more competitive raw materials. At the same time, that dynamic increases pressure on domestic recycled paper producers.
Argentina is showing signs of export recovery after several years of macroeconomic instability. The deceleration of inflation – while not ideal for the domestic market – is creating stronger pressure to export and allowing some industrial sectors to recover activity levels. Corrugated manufacturing destined for export segments is part of that recovery.
The overall Mercosur balance for the industry has been one of successful regional integration, driven both by production expansion and greater penetration in international markets.
corruga.expert: How much has the corrugated box itself changed over the years?
Mariano SaThe corrugated box is no longer just transport packaging. For most applications today, it combines protection, logistics, branding, and consumer communication. E-commerce has turned the box into an essential part of the customer experience.
ludjian: The corrugated box is no longer just transport packaging. For most applications today, it combines protection, logistics, branding, and consumer communication. E-commerce has turned the box into an essential part of the customer experience.
corruga.expert: How has technology investment evolved in the South American corrugated industry?
Mariano Saludjian: Over the last two decades, the incorporation of machinery from China allowed the South American industry to renew a significant part of its industrial base, reduce the average age of equipment and improve productivity.
Access to new equipment, rather than only second-hand machinery, narrowed the technology gap and expanded productive capacity.
There was also an important evolution in the width of corrugating lines. In Argentina, the traditional 1.40-metre configuration was progressively replaced by wider equipment – 1.80 and 2 metres. Beyond production speed, much of the efficiency gain came from reduced downtime, automation and process optimisation. New printing and design technologies also became essential to add value in finished box manufacturing.
corruga.expert: Sustainability – is it a real driver or is it still mostly compliance language?
Mariano Saludjian: It is structural now. That shift started at Rio 1992 and accelerated with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The environmental variable stopped being secondary and became embedded in business and regulatory decision-making.
The classical economic logic based mainly on capital and labour began incorporating sustainability as a new dimension of added value. Environmental traceability, material circularity, emissions reduction and social impact are now increasingly relevant factors for accessing international markets and sustaining competitiveness.
Corrugated board holds a strategic advantage here over other packaging materials, particularly against plastic. Its recyclability, renewability and biodegradability position it favourably within new regulatory frameworks and within the preferences of both consumers and corporate buyers.
corruga.expert: What about certification requirements such as FSC, PEFC, PPWR and EUDR?
Mariano Saludjian: They are no longer optional differentials in many markets. They are entry conditions. The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation and the European Deforestation Regulation are already influencing requirements beyond Europe, and similar criteria are beginning to appear in Southeast Asian markets as well.
These certifications and regulations guarantee responsible forest management, ensure chain-of-custody traceability from fibre origin to finished product and validate the recyclability of packaging. More than administrative requirements, they function as mechanisms of environmental and social validation of productive processes. They have become commercial and strategic tools.
corruga.expert: After so many years in the corrugated industry, what has surprised you the most over the last five years?
Mariano Saludjian: What surprised me most is the speed at which change has accelerated. For many years, the industry evolved gradually. Today, transformations happen simultaneously: technology, sustainability requirements, digitalisation, geopolitics and consumer behaviour.
Five years ago, many companies still considered sustainability or advanced automation as future topics. Today, they are part of everyday business decisions. The pace of adaptation has become one of the most important competitive factors.
corruga.expert: If you were 25 years old today and entering the corrugated industry for the first time, where would you focus your energy?
Mariano Saludjian: I would focus on the intersection of technology, sustainability and industrial innovation.
The future of the industry will not be defined only by production capacity, but by the ability to design smarter packaging, improve resource efficiency, integrate digital tools and create solutions that respond to changing consumer and regulatory expectations.
Corrugated remains a traditional industry in many ways, but it offers enormous opportunities for people who bring new ideas and new perspectives.
corruga.expert: Looking toward 2030, what will define the competitive position of South American corrugated board producers?
Mariano Saludjian: Technological modernisation, the incorporation of new printing solutions, industrial automation and the development of innovative structural designs will be key elements for sustaining regional competitiveness.
South America has relevant advantages: forestry resource availability, export capacity and industrial growth potential. The challenge is to transform those advantages into more efficient, sustainable and globally integrated productive processes.
The corrugated board market in South America has the potential to keep growing, driven by e-commerce, agro-industrial exports and sustainability as an organising principle of the global economy. Corrugated board is no longer simply a packaging material. It has become part of the infrastructure of global trade.
The full presentation by Mariano Saludjian is available as a separate PDF file: LatamCORR_CAFCCO_Mariano_Saludjian_full_presentation.pdf
Contact: [email protected] | www.cafcco.com.ar
Interview conducted by Igor Tkalenko, corruga.expert.
You can find the full presentation and all slides here
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