| Date: |
16-07-2015 |
| Subject: |
Indian Paper Manufacturers Association calls for special additional duty on paper import |
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KOCHI: Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) has called for imposition of 10 per cent special additional duty on import of paper and paperboard on actual use basis to put a check on increasing cheap import of paper.
Organised paper industry in India has invested Rs 25,000 crore in technology upgradation and creating new capacities so as to achieve economies of scale and compete internationally. However, capacity utilization and capital productivity are at an all-time low as cheaper imports are increasingly capturing a greater share of the growing domestic market, said Sanjay Singh, IPMA president.
Large scale investments planned in the country's paper industry, with an estimated current turnover of Rs 50,000 crore have been put on a backburner as a rise in cheap imports of paper have queered the pitch for paper business in India, he said.
In many cases, the paper is being imported at a cost lower than production cost in India. The raw material cost has gone spiralling up in India in recent years. For instance, wood prices in the country have doubled in the last two years. Currently, mill delivered wood prices in India range between $175-200 per tonne against average price of $ 100 per tonne in other Asian countries, IPMA said in a statement.
In the last four years, imports of paper and paperboards (excluding newsprint) into India have risen at 21% in value terms (from Rs 3,411 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 7,222 crore in 2014-15) and 18% in volume terms (from 0.54 million tonnes in 2010-11 to 1.01 million tonnes in 2014-15), the association added.
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com
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