Since June 2020, my country's paper prices have been rising all the way. After the start of the Spring Festival in 2021, the price of white cardboard paper has exceeded 10,000 yuan, a record high. Faced with the pressure of rising paper prices, some printing companies have long been overwhelmed.

   Although the proposals of the two sessions have involved paper prices, and printing associations in various regions have met to discuss solutions, the trend of rising paper prices has not been reversed, and many printing companies are still facing considerable cost pressure.

   However, the increase in paper prices is not a unique problem in the current Chinese market. In India, rising paper prices have made the local printing business unsustainable.

  The increase in paper prices has severely hit the Indian printing industry

  According to "Reference News" quoted India's "Printing Weekly" report, in addition to facing the pressure of rising paper, the Indian printing industry is also facing the double blow of the continuous increase in the prices of printing plates, chemicals, inks and other raw materials and the sharp increase in input costs.

   Faced with tremendous pressure, the All India Federation of Printers (AIFMP) has condemned the sharp increase in the prices of raw materials, led by paper, printing plates and chemicals. The organization said in a recent statement that: Paper manufacturers’ unprecedented increase in paper prices is a major obstacle to their operations. At the same time, the consumables industry is unwilling to pass on costs, making the printing business unsustainable.

  In 1955, India promulgated the "Necessities Act", stipulating that newsprint, cardboard, and straw paper were listed as "necessities." However, this law has not been properly implemented. Kamal Chopra, chairman of the Federation of Printers, said: "We hope that the government will intervene and supervise its strict implementation."

   The price of newsprint has risen severely, with the price per ton nearly doubling

  According to the Indian "Media Exchange" website, Indian publishers also need to cope with the ever-increasing price of newsprint. After the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, the price of newsprint has soared by 20% in the past three months, and it is expected that it will increase by at least 10% in the next month.

   reported that the price of newsprint in 2020 will be less than US$300 per ton, and it is now close to US$500 per ton. It is expected that it will increase by another US$100 in the next few months, nearly doubling. Since India’s 2021 fiscal budget did not announce that it would exempt the printing industry from import taxes on newsprint, the printing industry is struggling to develop its business.

Shreams Kumar, Managing Director of India’s “The Motherland” said: “Nearly 50% to 60% of our costs are spent on buying newsprint. Since the government has not lowered import taxes, our costs will only increase. In difficult times, rising newsprint prices are a major concern for the printing industry, and we have to pay hundreds of thousands of employees in the industry."

   The price for brown kraft paper has increased by 70%, and the cost cannot be passed on to the customer.

   According to the WeChat public account "Global Printing and Packaging Industry", since March 1, the price of all types of paper in India has once again risen across the board. The corrugated box manufacturer said that since January 2020, the price of its main raw material cattle cardboard has risen by at least 70%.

"The carton industry is struggling under the double blow of the sharp rise in costs in just a few months and the interruption of the supply of raw materials. We can't even pass on 50% of the total price increase to our customers." Indian Corrugated Box Manufacturing Association (ICCMA) Chairman Sandip Wadhwa said.

   However, the most severely hit by rising raw material prices are smaller companies. In response to this situation, most printers are taking measures to use local newsprint to balance costs and develop other production strategies to try to adapt to rising costs.