Federation of Paper Traders' Associations of India

17/01/2020

Govt considering hike in customs duty on toys, certain paper, footwear products in Budget

NEW DELHI: The government may increase customs duty on several products like paper, footwear, rubber items and toys in the forthcoming Budget with a view to promote 'Make in India' and boost manufacturing growth, sources said.

The Commerce and Industry Ministry in its Budget recommendations to the Finance Ministry has proposed rationalisation of basic customs or import duty on over 300 items from different sectors, including furniture, chemicals, rubber, coated paper and paper boards.

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For new pneumatic tyres of rubber, it has proposed to hike customs duty to 40 per cent from the current 10-15 per cent.
Similarly on footwear and related products, the ministry has suggested increase in duty to 35 per cent from the current 25 per cent.

"There is a significant increase in imports of undervalued and cheap footwear. Hike in the duty will help address the issue of price competition. Majority of imports are coming from ASEAN countries, with which India has a free trade agreement. It is also suspected that China is re-routing large quantities of footwear through these countries," the sources said.

The ministry has proposed to increase import duty on wooden furniture to 30 per cent from the current 20 per cent.

For coated paper, paper boards and hand made papers, it has suggested doubling the duty to 20 per cent.

However, it has asked for removal of import duty on waste paper and wood pulp, which is currently at 10 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively.

The paper industry has expressed concerns about cheap imports and surge in inbound shipments.

"This has significant negative impact on coated paper manufacturing industry. Increase in duty will help domestic industry to compete with global players. It would also protect local manufacturers and ensure sustained growth of domestic paper industry," one of the sources said.

For wood, metal and plastic toys, the ministry has suggested increase in import duty to up to 100 per cent from the current 20 per cent.
Import of these toys increased to USD 304 million in 2018-19 from USD 281.82 million in 2017-18 from China and Hong Kong.

17/01/2020

Indian Paper Industry – Valuations At All Time Highs

The valuations of all paper companies are at a decade high. Industry appears to be in a sweet spot with lot of tailwinds. One needs to have a firm view on paper prices / paper cycle for the next 3-4 years to take a call at these valuations.

Indian Paper Industry – Structure

The Indian paper industry turnover is estimated to be ~Rs 50,000 crores. India accounts for ~3% of the world’s total paper production. Paper industry in India provides direct employment ~5 lakh people and ~15 lakh people indirectly.

Indian paper industry can be majorly classified further as below :

Newsprints : Newsprint serves the newspaper & magazines industry. This segment forms ~15% of the domestic paper industry.

Writing and Printing Paper : Printing and writing segment caters to office stationary, textbooks, copier papers, notebooks etc. This segment forms ~30% of domestic paper industry.

Packaging Boards : Packaging paper & board segment caters to tertiary and flexible packaging purposes in industries such as FMCG, food, pharma, textiles etc. This segment forms ~51% of the domestic paper industry. This is amongst fastest growing segment after Tissue owing to factors such as rising urbanization, increasing pe*******on of organized retail, higher growth in FMCG, pharmaceutical.

Tissue : Tissue paper is majorly used as paper handkerchiefs for facial & toilet purpose. Currently due to it low base and increasing hygiene awareness, this segment witnessed fastest growth.

Manufacturing Process :

Raw Materials :

Raw material expense is ~45 to 50% of the revenue. Pulp is the primary raw material used for manufacturing paper, and it can be obtained through processing of wood, wastepaper and agriculture residue like bagasse and wheat straw. In early years, paper industry was majorly dependent on wood as a raw material. However, due to increasing awareness and restriction on cutting trees focus has slowly shifted to waste paper and agro residue.

Due to very low recovery rate companies who use waste paper as their raw material have to be dependent on imports. ~40% of the waste paper used domestically is imported.

In terms of wood as a raw material – Indian companies have always faced scarcity of wood supply which is fulfilled by government auctions of imported wood.
Other major cost includes power & fuel costs which is in the range of ~8% to 10%
Quick Glance At Major Indian Players :

Key Financial Metrics

Unit Level Economics –
Like every other commodity business, it is very important to look at unit level economies (i.e. per ton analysis) of the Indian as well as global paper companies to understand the competitive advantage of companies.

* Realization per ton :

Realization per ton helps us understand the price trend in the industry. As we can see in the above table, clearly paper companies have been charging highest in last five years. Comparing it with other companies is a little tricky as it is subject to different product mix. We can see realizations of Orient Paper is very high compared to other companies as Orient paper manufactures writing & printing and tissue paper whereas no other above players are into manufacturing of tissue paper.
Indian pricing of paper is factor of global prices. Global prices have seen an uptick in last two years which lead to increase in Indian prices which can be seen the above chart

* Cost per ton :

Looking at time series data of cost per ton helps us understand the stage of economies of scale, clearly JK Paper is more efficient than what it was five years ago. Whereas, for other companies cost per ton is in similar range over last four to five years.
Comparison with other companies is again a little complicated, as it is subject to raw material used for pulp manufacturing. Companies like JK Paper have integrated paper mills i.e. they manufacture their own pulp and hence are less volatile to global pulp prices which have gone up significantly in last two years leading increase in global paper prices.
TNPL uses bagasse as raw material for paper manufacturing which is cheaper source and hence can be seen in the above table.

* EBITDA per ton :

Comparing historical EBITDA per ton helps us understand the movement in efficiency of the company over a period. Comparing it with other companies help us understand which company is most efficient considering all fixed and variable factors.

* Common size (percentage of sales) is another matrix which could help us understand the improving efficiency of a company over a period and also comparing it with other companies will help us understand where it is placed in the industry. However, common size analysis misses important factors like improving price trend – which it could reflect in gross margins of all companies if all companies had integrated facilities which generally is not the case.

Expansion Plans

Is It Feasible To Set Up A Greenfield Project?
To set up an integrated greenfield paper facility, a company will have to spend ~Rs 1,00,000 per ton. Considering below assumptions:
* Realisations per ton stay at – ~Rs 60,000 per ton
* Utilisations – Year 1: 90%, Year 2: 95% and Year 3 onwards 100%
* EBITDA per ton of ~Rs 13,500 is maintained for 5 years
* Working capital (% of sales) & CFO / EBITDA considered average of paper companies
* Considering asset life of 18 years (average life used by paper companies) – depreciated straight line
* Company repays 70% of its CFO towards debt (In case debt taken)

Case 1: 60% Debt @ 9% and 40% Equity

At the end of year 5, company will earn an RoCE of 9.70% and cumulative CFO will be ~Rs 560 crores vs. investment of ~Rs 1050 crores.
Considering, the company gets into brownfield expansion and spends ~Rs 85,000 per ton and all other assumptions being same the RoCE profile of the company with 60% debt and 40% equity could look as below :

Case 2: 100% Equity

At the end of year 5, with 100% equity the company will earn an RoCE of 6.34% which is lesser than fixed deposit rates in India. (Lower than case 1 as there is no interest cost leading to higher PAT / higher Equity / higher Capital Employed in following year)
Considering, the company gets into brownfield expansion and spends ~Rs 85,000 per ton and all other assumptions being same the RoCE profile of the company with 100% equity could look as below :

However, there have been few announcements by the Indian paper companies to increase their capacities as below :

Emami Paper : Emami Paper plans to spend ~Rs 2,000 crores to set up a packaged board facility in Gujarat. Emami plans to add 2,30,000 tons of packaged board capacity in phase 1 of the project which is expected to be completed by early 2020.

JK Paper : JK paper recently acquired Sirpur paper mills from NCLT which is expected to come online in the end of FY19. JK paper is also planning an expansion in its Gujarat facility by spending ~Rs 1,400 to 1,500 crores. The brownfield expansion will add 1,50,000 to 1,75,000 tons of additional capacity of packaged paper which is expected to be completed in next 24 to 30 months.

TNPL : TNPL plans to spend ~Rs 2,520 crores in its Tiruchi plant. The brownfield expansion will add another 1,65,000 tons of writing and printing capacity.

Ruchira Paper : Ruchira Paper plans to spend ~Rs 1,000 crores over next two to three year to add 1,00,000 to 1,25,000 tons of writing and printing paper capacity.

Demand Drivers

* Very Low Per Capita Paper Consumption : Globally pulp & paper consumption has witnessed negative / stagnant growth. Whereas, growth in India is for past few years has been very strong. With increasing income levels and urbanisation per capita paper consumption in the country will improve.

* Increase In Literacy Rate And Increasing Enrolment In Education : Number of colleges in India have gone up from ~37k to ~42k in last five years. With increasing awareness and enrolment in colleges and school could lead to higher demand of paper in India.

* Rising Circulation And Number Of Newspaper & Magazines : As per Audit Bureau of Circulation, the circulation of print media / newspaper has grown at a CAGR of ~10% in India. Continuation of the trend could lead to higher demand of newsprints.
* Increase In Home Deliveries : Increasing trend in the eCommerce space will use higher packaged paper for delivery purpose. Also, due to ban on one time use plastic bags, food delivery apps have started using packaged paper for delivery purpose which could lead to higher demand of packaged paper.

Risk Factors

Global Dependence :

India contributes only ~4% of total global demand and hence Indian paper industry is price taker. One of the major factors in pricing of domestic paper is landed cost of imported paper. 50% of consumed coated paper in India is imported. China is the major price influencer due to its mammoth share in market. As we recently saw significant rise in pulp prices as China banned imports of low-quality waste paper which led to increase in paper price globally. However, as major Indian companies have integrated facilities and manufacture their own pulp their cost of production remained stable and they enjoyed higher profits due to prices going up.
However, in October 2018 global pulp prices softened a little further softening of pulp prices ,may lead to softening of paper price which could reduce the additional delta in earnings of the companies running integrated facilities

Raw Material :

India is wood fibre deficient country – inadequate raw material availability domestically is a major constraint for the paper industry
Current demand for pulpable wood by paper industry is about 11 MTPA while domestic availability is only 9 MTPA

Unit level comparison of JK Paper, Nine Dragons & International Paper:

Imports :
Due to raw material constraint raw material in domestic market, paper companies in India have to import certain amount of raw material from global market which increases cost of production for domestic companies. Due to higher cost of production Indian companies are less competitive globally and cheaper globally prices lead to higher imports

Could We See Consolidation In Future?

* The water, power & chemical requirements for paper production reduce as the mills grow larger.
* In 1995, the US paper industry witnessed challenging market conditions which forced players to consolidate to reduce costs. In 2016 (after consolidation) top four players contributed ~75% of the total market share which was ~50% by top six players in 1995
* In Indonesia top 2 players contribute ~60% of total market share whereas, in China top three players contribute ~21% of total market share.
* Coming back to India top three players account for total market share of only ~9%. The average capacity of Indian paper mills is approximately 1/5th of European and 1/9th of US mills.
* There are a lot of listed players in the industry with stretched balance sheet and in order to achieve economies of scales / improve efficiencies we could see a consolidation in the paper industry ahead of us.
* The water, power & chemical requirements for paper production reduce as the mills grow larger.

Disclaimers :

The information herein is used as per the available sources of bseindia, company’s annual reports & other public database sources. FPTA is not responsible for any discrepancy in the above mentioned data. Investors should seek advice of their independent financial advisor prior to taking any investment decision based on this report or for any necessary explanation of its contents
Future estimates mentioned herein are personal opinions & views of the author. This report indicates opinion of the author & is not a recommendation to buy or sell securities. The views expressed in this post accurately reflect the authors personal views about any and all of the subject securities or issuers; and no part of the compensations, if any was, is or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific recommendation or views expressed in the report.

31/12/2019

30/12/2019

INDIAN GOVERNMENT TO TIGHTEN RESTRICTIONS ON THE IMPORT OF MIXED PAPERS

The Indian Government is set to enforce restrictions on imports of mixed paper in a crackdown on the import of contaminated and illegal waste.

According to Indian Government documents seen by Resource, the government will be implementing a one per cent contamination limit for all mixed paper imports, with five bales of mixed paper to be inspected randomly in every container arriving in India.

Indian Government to tighten restrictions on the import of mixed papersThe documents state that imports must contain paper waste only and should not be co-mingled with bio-medical waste, municipal waste or sewage waste. The new restrictions are being implemented due to incidents of the mixing of hazardous and plastic waste with imports of mixed papers being reported.

The restrictions will bring India’s contamination limit for mixed papers down close to China’s, which was set at 0.5 per cent at the start of 2018 in a similar crackdown on the illegal import of waste.

Commenting on India’s new restrictions, Chief Executive of the Association, said: “We understand that India is now implementing a one per cent non-fibre tolerance on paper, which has been in place for 10 years anyway but has never been enforced. They are also inspecting five bales in every container when it arrives. We also believe that the banning of mixed [papers] in China is pretty much an inevitability too.

“As a result, two major exporters have pulled out of the Indian market at least temporarily until it is absolutely clear how everything will be implemented – too many risks [are] attached to the market at the moment.”

China’s waste restrictions, which applied a complete ban to unsorted mixed paper and post-consumer plastics, sent shockwaves through the recycling world and saw exporters scramble for alternative markets for plastics and paper and cardboard.

While much of the concern over waste exports has focused on plastic, with many countries introducing restrictions after being overwhelmed by the flood of plastic imports, particularly in Southeast Asia and including India earlier this year, the problems facing paper and cardboard have had less of an impact on the public consciousness.

The problems are there to see, however, with the European paper recycling rate falling in 2019 partly due to tightening export markets, with Indonesia recently banning the import of recovered paper, while export prices for mixed papers and cardboard have fallen to around £70 and £35 per tonne respectively.

The restrictions will increase pressure on local authorities and materials recycling facilities (MRFs) to clean up material streams, with strict contamination limits meaning collected material will need to be of the highest quality to be accepted by importing countries and to attract a good market price.

“It brings it all back to what I am constantly saying, which is where is all of this material going to go?” continued Ellin. “I think we have got so obsessed and focused on plastics that we have taken our eye off the fibre ball. Prices are at their lowest since the 1980s and with mixed at below £70 [per tonne] in some places, councils must be looking nervously over their shoulders. As 60 per cent plus net exporters of fibre from the UK, government needs to take urgent action.”

24/12/2019

10/12/2019

Nitin Gadkari pitches for reducing paper imports

The MSME minister also pitched for use of bamboo as a raw material by the industry as different types of papers can be made using bamboo.

India needs to discourage large-scale paper imports to boost the domestic paper industry, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday. The MSME minister also pitched for use of bamboo as a raw material by the industry as different types of papers can be made using bamboo. The government has allocated Rs 1,300 crore towards ‘Bamboo Mission’, he said. “India is witnessing large-scale paper imports despite the presence of diversified paper sector in the country. I am especially concerned about the growth prospects of small scale paper and pulp industries, an important part of MSME sector.

“The imports in paper sector need to be discouraged while exports should be enhanced to support the domestic industry,” Gadkari said in a video message at the inauguration of Paperex 2019. He pitched for increasing the use of bamboo as it can be a win-win situation for the paper industry and the farmers. JK Paper Managing Director Harshpati Singhania said,”Growth in paper industry is moving from developed world to the developing world. Consumption growth is declining in Europe and Americas while the same is going up in Asia and some of the Latin American countries. Currently, India is the fastest growing paper market in the world”.

Singhania, who is also the founder President of Indian Paper Manufactures Association (IPMA), said servicing the growing requirement of paper is both an opportunity and a challenge for the industry. Large-scale import of cheap paper is meeting the demand which should have been met by the domestic industry. Paperex, the largest conference for pulp and paper technology organised in Asia is sharply focussing on technologies to replace single use plastic with paper and paperboard in an accelerated manner.

The conference is being organised by Inpaper International, the journal of Indian Agro & Recycled Paper Mills Association (IARPMA). Paperex is designed to meet all the aspirations of technology seekers as the world’s latest and cost effective technologies will be presented during the 3-day conference, said P G Mukundan, Secretary General IARPMA. According to IARPMA, paper industry is expecting a big leap in growth from present consumption of 18.5 million tonne to 25 million tonne by 2025 due to emerging consumer trends which favour paper over non-biodegradable options.

10/12/2019

2nd MC meet, 4-5 Jan 2020
kudos

09/12/2019

Paper Industry Can Capture 25% Of Rs 80,000 Crore Single-Use Plastics

Amid a growing debate over impact of single-use plastics on environment, paper offers a sustainable option and can capture a fourth of the Rs 80,000 crore single-use plastics market by 2025, if its use is totally banned by the government, a new study said.

India generated 26,000 tonnes per day of plastic waste in 2017-18, of that only 60 percent was recycled and the rest ended up as litter on roads, in landfills or streams. Single-use plastic industry is close to Rs 80,000 crore right now and growing. Packaging accounts for a third of India's plastic consumption, and 70 percent of plastic packaging is turned into waste in a short span.

While uncollected plastic waste poses a huge threat to species on land and in water, single-use plastic bags and styrofoam containers can take up to 1,000 years to decompose, said a study released at the world’s largest paper fair, PAPEREX organised by Hyve India, a 100 percent subsidiary of Hyve Group Plc., London, last week.

Paper, on the other hand, is eco-friendly green product and bio-degradable, it said, adding it was a myth that the paper industries cut trees for production, and consumption of water and energy is high. Paper industry plants more trees than harvested and primary raw material are 100 percent renewable like wood and agro-residues.

The study said about a third of new paper comes from recycled paper and an equivalent amount from waste such as sawdust and scrap from lumber mills.

“In India, companies use 46 percent raw material from recovered paper, 29 percent from agro residue like bagasse, straw etc. and 29 percent from plantation wood,” it said, adding paper promotes literacy, hygiene and reduce pollution by using bagasse.

For production of one tonne paper, 2.1 tonne of wood is required but "no forest wood is being utilised for paper manufacturing," it said. “All (paper) mills are fulfilling their requirement through social forestry plantation on its own or through farmers.”

More importantly, average cost of recycling of paper is Rs 32 per kilogram-- Rs 20 for cost of collecting paper trash and Rs 12 conversion cost. In comparison, the cost to collection of plastic waste is Rs 30 to 36 per kg and recycling is Rs 22 to Rs 35 per kg, it said, adding transporting one tonne of paper costs Rs 4.5 per kilometer as compared to Rs 6.2 in case of plastic.

Energy consumption for paper production is 0.59 to 1.19 tonne of oil equivalent per tonne as opposed to 1.48 to 2.58 a tonne in plastic, the study said, adding 55-60 percent energy can be saved if paper is used in place of plastic.

According to Sanjeev Batra, Director, Hyve India, due to the fundamental and technological revolution, 100 percent paper produced is recyclable and biodegradable.

"Paperex 2019 impressed upon the common man to save the environment and how this essential commodity use in our everyday life can reduce pollution and promote recycling," he said.

"Paper industry is going through the transformation phase and now the paper industry uses less power and water due to technological changes. Cost of production of recycled paper is at least 30 to 40 percent cheaper depending upon the location than the recycled plastic," JP Narain, VP, Indian Paper & Manufacturers Association and CEO of Century Paper said.

The requirement of better quality packaging products and the demand for other products, such as tissue paper, filter paper, tea bags and cardboard are expected to drive the paper and paper products market in India in the coming years, he said.

"There is a big opportunity for paper industry as single-use plastic market in India is close to Rs 80,000 crore. Paper industry is ready to take 25 percent market share of single-use plastic by 2025 if totally banned by the government," he said.

Of the 9.1 billion tonnes of plastic that the world has produced since 1950, 6.9 billion tonne has become waste, and only 9 percent of that has been recycled, the rest ends up in landfills and in the world's oceans, the study said.

India's plastic consumption at 11 kg per capita is less than half of global average of 28 per kg. The U.S. has per capita consumption of 109 kg, while it is 65 kg in Europe and 38 kg in China.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants India to eliminate single-use plastics by 2022, following on the footsteps of major nations around the world that are waging a war on them.

The study said chips and confectionery packets account for the largest share of plastic waste in India - 12 percent of total plastic waste is bottle caps and lids, 19 percent are chips and confectionery packets, 10 per cent are pet bottles, 8 percent garbage bags and 8 percent is packaging.

28/11/2019

Will technology and artificial intelligence take over paper?

While some believe humans will be better off in hand of advance AI and technology, others believe it will lead to a downfall and paper will never be replaced

Artificial intelligence has been taking a toll on our daily lives but on the other hand, it also has the potential to transform the world, tech experts believe. However, the experts have not predicted the effects AI will take on an average person. Some believe humans will be better off in hand of advance AI, others believe it will lead to an inevitable downfall.

Will technology take over paper in future'

These days paper has been replaced by technology in many fields. Despite many efforts, paper has been replaced in many industries, over the last decade. The previous generation was used to writing letters which was replaced by SMS and other chatting apps. While letters took days to reach the designated person, an SMS would reach within minutes and this was the main reason it got replaced. However, in the rural areas where some people do not have access to fast speed internet, they still, believe in writing letters, saving the jobs of our postmen.

Paper is no longer essential due to technology, yet it still exists with no sign of going anywhere. When it comes to newspapers, our older generation like to hold a newspaper in their hand, feel it, and read it while they have their first cup of tea in the morning. This, however, is passed on by the generation before them. The younger generation is habitual to reading news pieces on the go and this has led to the decline of print media.

In terms of making a to-do list, people still prefer writing it down on a sheet because of the sensory experience it stimulates. The touch of the page and the link of your pen and hand to mind can possibly never be replaced. Books too, at some point, were proposed to be replaced by e-books but failed to be replaced because the avid readers preferred holding a book. Although the debate on this is never-ending, there are possibilities of technology taking over tasks but not jobs.

19/11/2019

Major Reasons Behind the Decline in Demand of Paper Market in Recent Years

Extensive growth and advancement in the Internet and e-retail business are identified as a few of the major factors behind the drop in the demand for paper on a global scale. However, regions such as Asia, the Middle East, and Africa alongside Latin America are observed to experience sustained growth in the consumption of paper. The major cost driving factors for the paper industry include raw material and the feedstock, which constitutes a significant share of the total cost of production. Additionally, the cost of labor (which is dependent on the abundance of labor) also has an impact on the paper industry.

Dynamics of The Global Paper Industry

A thorough paper market analysis show trends in the global paper industry that ensure demand for high-quality and premium paper products that are manufactured to meet consumer requirements of higher print performance and durability. Paper and paper products may also be designed to meet the compatibility criteria favoring the most recent printing technologies. To best understand the dynamics of the paper industry, experts pay attention to various genres of technological innovations made in the paper industry. Premium Digital Tough, Tear Coated Paper, Heavyweight Coated Paper, and New Dry Coated Paper are few of the paper industry trends that manufacturers are investing in. Companies such as Alberta Newsprint Company use web-based inkjet technology. It is increasingly gaining recognition as one of the most pioneering innovations in paper industry products. Other major players in the paper industry making a paradigm shift include Holmen, International Paper Company, UPM, and Stora Enso.

The paper industry can be segmented into sanitary paper, packaging paper or graphic paper. Graphic paper is used for the purpose of communication and includes two main paper grade types – newsprint, and printing & writing papers.

Key growth drivers for the global paper industry are the growing daily print circulation in developing nations, as well as an increased sale of printed books in the U.S. Experts also account for the growing literacy rate and reading capacity in the developing nations for the growth of paper buying capacity and paper manufacturing. This is getting increasingly bridged by the government policies in countries like Thailand, China, and India towards web-based education and smart classrooms.

As a developing trend, the Chinese paper market is observed to extensively procure recycled paper from the established economies of North America, Japan, and Europe at cheap prices. This has empowered China to be a leading and aggressively growing supplier of paper and paper products in the Asia Pacific region. This position was earlier held by the U.S.before the industrialists there made a business shift from paper to metallic tapes and Information Technology equipment.

Classification of Paper Industry

The paper industry is classified into raw materials, its various distribution channels, and the types of products. The quality and quantity of the products alongside the nature of the end-users also govern the functioning and profits for the paper industry. The global paper industry is dominated by the North American countries of the United States and Canada, European countries such as Sweden and Finland and the Asian countries of South Korea, China, and Russia.

Case of The Decline In The Paper Industry Worldwide Global

For the past decade, the global paper and pulp mill industry has contracted. This is primarily due to a shift towards the digital media and paperless communication across most developed economies. The demand for printing & writing and, newsprint has declined due to a shift toward the application of digital media and web advertising. Factors such as the emergence of online e-commerce have increased overall demand for paper-less advertisements. It is noted that the paper mill industry in the US is expected to decline at the rate of 2.5 percent through 2022. Furthermore, revenues are also predicted to decline from $33.8-$33.6 billion in the speculated time. However, products such as the sanitary paper products manufacturing industry are observing a notable rise of 0.6 percent to $12 billion by 2022.

Paper-less operations have seeped in almost all government departments, bank transfers, and policy regulatory bodies and so on. These departments have switched to electronic data due to the convenience of improved accessibility, retrievability, speed, and safety. Such factors and trends are building grounds for a rapid decline in the global paper industry. Few of the other trends include a decline of paper price, the conversion, and transformation of major graphic mills into packaging paper mills. Rapid urbanization leading to the internet-aided conversion of media and promotional materials for advertising and Public Relations is also a driving force towards the decline in the circulation of printed media such as magazines and newspapers across developing and developed economies.

The world is converging through the internet. The web provides services of effective and cost-effective advertising, journalism and official communication. Upcoming technological advancement and its characteristic cost-effective nature have led to a significant decline in paper mills and printing houses.

Extensive growth and advancement in the Internet and e-retail business are identified as a few of the major factors behind the drop in the demand for paper o...