Ministry Orders Import of 20,000 Tons of Publication Paper

The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade has given the go-ahead to import 20,000 tons of publication paper.

Industries Minister Mohammad Shariatmadari said on Monday that paper used for publications (books, newspapers, magazines, etc.) will be included on the list of essential imports and the government will allocate subsidized dollar, ILNA reported.

According to Abolfazl Roghani Golpayegani, the head of Paper and Cardboard Producers’ Syndicate, prices of publication paper have grown by 100% over the past year due to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.

The situation has led to a shortage of this type of paper, pushing some local newspapers to the verge of closure.

Noting that the country needs as much as 380,000 tons of newsprint annually, Golpayegani said Indonesia, Malaysia, China, South Korea, Finland and Italy are the main exporters of such paper to Iran.