Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum's (PBIF) president Mian Zahid Hussain has urged the government to save the local paper and board industry from being collapsed by provide it a level-playing field. "On an average a person in Pakistan consumes 210grams of paper as compared to the developed nations where per capita consumption is more than 100kg," he added.
He was talking to a delegation of Sindh Paper Mills Association (SPMA) which called on him to apprise about the problems being faced by the paper and board industry. The delegation was led by SPMA's former president Sheikh Rehan Jaweed. Voicing his concern over the crisis being faced by the industry, he deplored that as many as 50 out of a total 400 paper mills in the country have already been closed in the wake of energy crisis and other issues.
He suggested to the government to revive the local paper and board industry by taking measures aimed at curbing the papers' smuggling as well as by enhancing duty on the import of paper and board. He regretted that although the price of normal paper in the international market is $45 per ton, the same is available at $80 per ton due to enhanced cost of doing business.
He was of the view that the government by providing a level-playing field to the local industry could help it in producing world class paper which would be suitable for textbooks and as such the industry by exporting the same could fetch foreign exchange for country.
Moreover, discouraging import of paper would help the industrial growth, create job opportunities and in increased taxation, he opined. He said that the paper industry's problems could be gauged from the fact that local businessmen lost Rs 23 billion tenders of publishing textbooks for Afghanistan.