Costs of corrugated paper have gone up by over 30% in three months

High and volatile crude prices have hit the corrugated packaging industry very hard.

Corrugated paper is used for packaging in various industries such as food, processed foods, fresh vegetables and fruits, white goods, appliances, engineering etc. The industry is a small scale sector and is suffering huge losses, because of the volatile prices of Kraft paper, which is the major raw material.

Pradip Bosmaya, president, Western India Corrugated Box Manufacturers Association (WICBMA) said, “Eight-five percent of all products are packed in corrugated boxes. Over the last three months, prices of Kraft paper have gone over 30% hitting the industry very badly.”

He said the major culprits are the paper mills in the Vapi area of Gujarat. Most of the paper supplied to Mumbai and Gujarat are sourced from these mills and they are the ones increasing the prices frequently and the rest follow the trend. 

Shirish Desai, president, Vapi Industries Association said, the paper mills are also at the receiving end as their raw material costs are shooting up.

He said, “Due to the volatile crude prices, the input costs or other raw materials including chemicals, etc are fluctuating every day.” Desai doesn’t foresee any solution to the problem in the near term and said the corrugated paper manufacturers wants the paper mills to keep the prices fixed for few months, but they are helpless and pass on the rise.