According to the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA), paper and paperboard imports have risen by 37 percent to approximately 1.47 million tonnes from April to December this fiscal year. This increase has negatively impacted the local paper mills. In the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, paper and paperboard imports were around 1.07 million tonnes, per the DGCI&S data cited by IPMA. The import of the commodity had seen a 25 percent jump to 1.44 million tonnes in volume terms in FY23, and April-December figures have crossed that also.
The IPMA president, Pawan Agarwal, stated that "Imports of paper and paperboard in huge volumes and worth Rs 10,000 crore in nine months are impacting the Make-in-India drive as well as depriving employment to 5 lakh committed farmers who are aligned with the domestic Paper Industry through agro, farm forestry." He added that India has more than adequate domestic capacity to manufacture almost all paper grades. Such indiscriminate imports adversely impact the commercial viability of most paper mills in the country.
Out of over 900 paper mills, only 553 are operational in India, as per government data. The import surge is mainly due to a massive 142 percent growth in paper and paperboard imports from ASEAN, which enter the country at zero import duty under the ASEAN-India free trade agreement. The IPMA has also added that imports of all major paper grades are rising, with imports of uncoated writing & printing paper, coated paper, and paperboard witnessing the highest growth rates. Besides zero-duty concessions to ASEAN and Korean FTAs, import tariff concessions to China under the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) have also boosted paper imports.
