September 1, 2012
Pakistan has expressed interest in importing paper and paper products from India due to twin benefits of better quality and cost-effectiveness.
A paper industry delegation from Pakistan held talks with the Indian paper industry association. The delegation is expected to ask the Pakistani government to remove paper from the negative list of trade, so that they can import it from Indian and get access to quality paper at lower cost.
Currently, Pakistan’s consumes one million tonne of paper annually. Almost half of the requirement is met through imports from Thailand, Indonesia, Norway and Sweden.
The Pakistani delegation sees a huge potential for paper and paper products imports from India and it would help Pakistan-based units expand their operations. Paper imports from India would lower the prices of textbooks and other paper-related commodities in Pakistan. Currently, Pakistan imports $1.23 million worth of paper and India’s share in imports is just 0.6%.