MADURAI: The increase in the prices of notebooks and other stationery as a fallout of the inflationary pressures in the wake of recent fuel price hike has resulted in heightened family expenditures as schools reopened across Tamil Nadu on Thursday.
Traders said the tensions in the Middle East has driven up fuel prices, thereby increasing transportation and raw material costs. As a result, the prices of notebooks, school bags, pens, water bottles and other stationery items have risen, with parents and traders estimating increases of up to 30% compared to previous years, adding to the burden on families as the new academic year commenced.
K Murugesan, Secretary of the Madurai Notebook Manufacturers Association, said around 70 notebook manufacturing units in the district supply products in bulk to schools and stationery stores across Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Kerala. “Although the Union government recently brought the GST on notebooks down to zero, the raw materials used for manufacturing, such as gum and wrappers, continue to attract 18% GST. This has significantly increased production costs. In addition, the recent rise in petrol and diesel prices has pushed up transportation expenses. For instance, transporting 10 tonnes of goods from Madurai to Chennai now costs about Rs 22,000, compared to around Rs 18,500 earlier,” he said.
The combined impact of higher raw material and transport costs has led to a nearly 10% increase in the prices of notebooks and other paper-based products.
Murugan, owner of Kathiresan Stationery Shop on East Avani Moola Street in Madurai, said prices of plastic-based stationery products such as pens, geometry boxes, rulers, pencil cases, school bags and book covers have increased by 10-20% due to rising raw material and transportation costs. “We source different products from various states. For instance, pens and pencils are purchased from Bengaluru. The cost of transporting these goods has gone up considerably in recent months. A box of stapler pins that used to cost ~103 now costs Rs 110. Similarly, a long-size 165-page notebook that was sold for Rs 33 earlier is now priced at Rs 38,” he said.
He further stated that the increase is visible across almost all school-related products. “Last year, customers could buy a good-quality branded school bag for around Rs 1,000. Now, finding a similar bag at that price is difficult. The sharp rise in raw material prices, coupled with higher transportation charges, is the main reason behind the increase in the cost of stationery items,” he added.
M Rajagowri, a parent, said she has two children studying in a private school. “Compared to last year, the cost has increased by nearly 50 per cent.” She added that the rising expenditure has become an additional burden on households. “Petrol and diesel prices have already gone up, and now the increase in education-related expenses is further straining our finances,” she said.