KOCHI: The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) Kerala regional committee has urged the immediate intervention of the Central and the state governments to curb the rising price of newsprint following the Russia-Ukraine war.
In a statement here, M V Shreyams Kumar, chairman of INS-Kerala regional committee, said about 45 per cent of the newsprint imports are from Russia. Nearly 50 per cent of the cost of the newspaper business is for newsprint. “Following the imposition of sanctions by the US and Europe on Russia, the newsprint prices have spiked.
The price of newsprint which stood at $450/tonne before the war has now increased to $1000/tonne,” Shreyams Kumar said, adding that the newspaper industry is staring at a huge crisis. Adding to the woes is the disruption in the business caused by pandemic. “Because of Covid, the newspaper business has plunged into a crisis globally. Many newsprint factories were forced to shut down due to weak demand. This has also resulted in a sharp fall in the supply of newsprint,” he said.
Another factor that has hit the newsprint prices is the disruption in goods movement. “The disruption in goods movement has also brought down the availability of newsprint. Also, shipping companies have hiked the freight charges by 4-5 times,” he said. In addition to this, there has also been a 50% increase in the cost of printing ink while the prices of aluminum plates which are required for the print media have gone up by 40% in recent times, he said.