Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, has assured the industry that the Centre will take an objective look at paper industry’s demand for safeguard duty on imports.
August 22, 2017
Union Minister Nirmala Sitharam at the inauguration of the 56th AGM of Federation of Paper Traders Association said that the Centre is open to consider the paper industry’s demand for safeguard duty on imports and will consider a viable model for allocating land for pulp wood plantations.
On land for raising pulp wood plantations, she said paper manufacturers should talk to State Governments and the Centre and come up with a model that will augment farmers’ income.
The minister has also asked the industry to reformulate business model and make use of degraded land to plant trees that can be availed as raw material by the industry. “Look at the market which wants paper in certain segments. You are looking at a market which has been using paper for a long time. If there is a mismatch, you should be able to bridge that,” she said.
She advised the paper industry to diversify its product range, go for value addition and partner with start-ups to recover used paper for recycling.
