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Newsprint price up

By Shaner Khan
Prices of newsprint and white print have shot up by Tk ten to fifteen thousand per tonne Market sources at trihuted the price hike to acute shortage of supply
Authoritative sources In the Bangladesh Chemical Indus tries Corporation (BCIC) told The Daily Star that newsprint production at the Khulna Newsprint Mills (KNM) has decreased by 46 per cent while the demand has dramat K allv increased
Production at the Kama phull Paper Mills, which pro duce white print has also fallen due to technical reasons the soun es said
Paper merchants ai Naya bazar In the capital said yes terday moat of the dealers had no newsprint stock tor the last
Iwo weeks while some were holding their sloik
Die price of newsprint has gone up bv about Tk 10 (XX> per tonne from the usual price of Tk 22.000 to 2 5 000 per tonne.
The white print papers ot different types now sell at price Tk i00 to 300 higher than normal per ream, market sources said
The prices of imported oil set papers have also tlsen by Tk 200 to 31X1 per ream
"The production ol Ilir KNM has decreased because of electrical equipment maliBe nance wm k a high official of the BCIC said on condition ol anonymity
One ot the three electrical Im lanes ot the KNM which
ensures uniterrupted power supply necessary for produc tlon of papers, is now being overhauled. The maintenance work began on October I and is scheduled to be completed In a month.
As a consequence, production at the KNM has dropped below 2500 tonnes per day from the usual of 4000 tonnes, the official said.
"Tills overhauling was supposed lo take place in June last but as the demand for newsprint has risen drastically. we had to reschedule It
■ several limes. Now we are compelled to begin the overhauling.'" he said.
The demand for newsprint has risen to 4500 tonnes per" day from the usual 4000 tonnes over the last several months, the source noted.
"The newspapers, which are Ihe main buyers of the
KNM production, have Increased their circulation in the recent months. Besides, there Is a booming publication industry. Aho-her newsprint mill should be set up." the BC1C official said.
He pointed out that the KNM did not Increase the price of newsprint.
The production at Kania phuly paper mills haa also _ declined but the demand for papers is steadily Increasing, the source said.
Paper dealers, pointing fingers at big merchants and unscrupulous employees of the paper mills alleged that only a few dealers were getting pa pers while the rest were being ignored.