The Indian paper industry is the 15th largest producer in the world, with focus on products on various categories like paperboard, newsprint paper, writing and printing paper, carton board and many others. At present, the continuous annual growth rate for the production in various categories is about 5%, which is expected to grow further in the next 2-3 years. In fact, some experts firmly believe that the production may double in the next 8 years.
As far as the export of paper and paper products from India is considered, the industry has been growing slowly. There are many wonderful opportunities that have surfaced recently and that can increase the contribution of these products towards overall exports from the country. The following discussion discusses the present statistics and future possibilities of achieving the target.
The Current Position
At present, the exporters from India export the paper products worth INR 4 billion to the world. It forms just 0.80% of the total exports from the country. The figure is not very impressive when compared with the export values of paper industry from many developed nations. However, the figures have definitely improved, especially after the economic reforms introduced in the country during 1990s. There has been increase in the number of paper mills and the foreign investors too have shown interest in investing in the country’s industry from time to time. From just 17 mills at the time of independence, the number has grown to nearly 600 in the first decade of the 21st century.
The country’s exporters have started focusing on the markets in its neighborhood. The countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Nepal are among the top importers of the paper industry products from India. Tons of products in the categories like woodfree printing papers, paperboards and other grades are exported to these countries. It is considered to be one of the many opportunities that can strengthen the industry’s position.
Potential Opportunities for Future
Setting up of paper mills in rural areas is one important factor that the industry can concentrate on. It is worth mentioning that low capital is required to setup these industrial units. Moreover, the step can increase the employment opportunities in the Indian villages by a significant number.
Another important thing that the paper industry should concentrate is utilizing the raw materials form all possible sources. At present agro-based products like straw and bagasse are among the chief raw materials. There is additional need to understand the importance of paper recycling that can help in preventing the practice of deforestation to obtain wood as raw material for paper manufacturing.
In the past few years, a number of mills in the developed countries of Europe and North America have been shut down. It also provides the right opportunity for the Indian exporters to focus on the markets in these countries. The strict trade regulations faced by the main Asian rival China too increases the chances of the Indian paper industry to increase its export limits.
The Indian manufacturers offer paper products in the categories like barcodes, stickers, envelopes, cards, handmade papers, notebooks, photo frames, albums and so on. The exporters can post the availability of these products at the online B2B marketplaces for better exposure among the buyers and importers.
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