High paper prices hurt printers’ profits

The price of different kinds of paper has soared in the last few months. — VNA/VNS Photo Hải Âu

HCM CITY — The price for different kinds of paper has soared in the last few months, affecting turnover at printers and publishers.

The price for printing paper is around VNĐ 一 七. 五- 一 八. 五 million (US$ 七 六 八- 八 一 二) a tonne, an increase of VNĐ 一. 五- 二. 五 million ($ 六 五- 一 一0) compared to the end of last year.

Writing pads have risen in price from VNĐ 一 九. 五 million ($ 八 五 六) since mid-February to VNĐ 二 三. 五- 二 四 million ($ 一,0 三 二- 一,0 五 四) a tonne.

Dương Chí Thành, deputy general director of Vĩnh Tiến Joint Stock Company, said paper prices were soaring because raw materials were being imported at high prices.

Many Chinese companies are buying large quantities of raw paper materials and paper products, leading to a shortage and rising prices.

“Some paper importers said the price would continue to rise, especially in the harvest season,” Thành said.

Packaging producers said that rising prices had also affected the price of paper rolls since the end of last year.

Experts said that prices in many countries had risen because many countries had restricted paper production for environmental reasons.

Around  一0 years ago, the Chinese government closed a number of paper and pulp mills, causing a shortage of  一0 million tonnes of paper a year, Hàn Vinh Quang, former president of the Việt Nam Pulp and Paper Association, said.

In the first four months of the year, Việt Nam imported about  四 六 五,000 tonnes of paper, a year-on-year increase of five per cent. Imported paper products are mainly high-quality packaging paper, paper napkins and printing paper.

At the same time, domestic enterprises exported  一 八 七,000 tonnes of paper, around  四00 per cent over the same period last year.

Last year, Việt Nam imported $ 二. 五 billion worth of paper and paper products, including $ 六00 million from China. — VNS