Jaipur: The paper industry in the country continues to expand despite the rapid shift to digital platforms, campaigns promoting paper conservation and a decline in newspaper circulation, driven primarily by robust demand from the packaging sector, industry representatives said.They noted that rising consumption of packaging material across e-commerce, food and consumer goods has offset the fall in demand for printing and writing paper.However, the industry faces key challenges, including inadequate modernisation of machinery and heavy dependence on imported fibre, which accounts for half of the raw material used to produce the country’s annual paper output of around 30 million tonnes.“India is the largest producer of paper with a capacity of 30 million tonne annually, out of the global output of 450 MT. Of late, the mills are facing price pressure due to higher raw material costs and imported fibre. The challenge before the industry is how to ensure fibre security and to modernise the old machinery for efficiency,” said SVR Krishnan, president of Indian Pulp and paper Technical Association (IPPTA).He said the while the demand from the traditional segments may have dropped slightly due to the shift to the digital mode, but the growth of education sector and packaging industry is here to stay.IPPA is holding its two-day zonal conference in the city on Friday which will be attended by the business community in the paper industry from across the country.
