Cardboard,plywood to get dearer

Invitation cards,sweet boxes and boxes used for packaging material are likely to become dearer from April. With the increase in the prices of duplex board and craft paper— the raw material for making boxes — the cardboard industry has announced the hike in the prices of corrugated boxes and cardboard by 25 per cent. The consumer,hence,will have to pay more the packaging material.

The decision to this effect was taken two days ago by the general body of the Offset Printers Association (OPA) under the chairmanship of Parveen Aggarwal,owner of Bharat Box Factory. They rue the import of waste paper which is used by the cardboard factories has reduced because the European countries have started reusing the waste paper within their countries. “The prices of waste paper within the domestic market has also increased by Rs 3 a kg and due to the shortage of raw material,we have no choice but to increase the prices of cardboard from Rs 27 to Rs 32 per kg and craft paper from Rs 20 to Rs 27 a kg,” they said.

Vijay Baweja,one of the traders of cardboard,however,said,“Apart from the shortage of waste paper,even the prices of rice husk which is used to run the boilers of paper mills have increased. The prices which were Rs 50 a quintal two years ago are Rs 260 a quintal now.”

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H S Mankoo,Chairman of the legal cell of the OPA and owner of Romi Box said,“The mills are harassing industrialists by posing artificial shortage of the waste paper.”

Meanwhile,the price of plywood have also been incresed by seven per cent with immediate effect.The Punjab Plywood Manufacturers Association said in the past three months,the prices of poplar and eucalyptus wood have increased by over 25 per cent while the prices of chemicals,phenol etc are up by15 per cent.

Ashok Juneja,secretary general of the association,has asked the government to hold a meeting with the agro-based industry so as to ask them to grow more trees which is essential in the plywood industry.