The Paper Industry-Consumption Trends and Projections upto 2000 AD

Consumption Trends and Projections upto 2000 AD Alka Subramanian The paper industry is one of the more capital intensive industries in the core sector. This paper estimates demand for paper, paper board and newsprint upto 2000 AD. The author recommends that until 1992, the paper and paper board industry should concentrate on utilising existing capacity more efficiently rather than on capacity creation. The newsprint industry, however, needs to increase its production capacity tremendously if dependence on imports is to be reduced. The author has estimated the optimal economic size of a paper mill to be between seventy-five thousand and one lakh tonnes per annum. It is recommended that smaller paper mills should be encouraged to expand capacity so that economies of scale in production can be realised.