Amr Khader, head of the paper division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, said that the prices of locally manufactured paper rose this week to between 900 and 1,300 Egyptian pounds per ton.
Khader attributed the recent hike in paper cost to the increase in raw material and energy pricing during the current period, which led to an increase in production costs for writing and printing papers.
The price of a ton of writing and printing paper weighing 50/48 grams rose to 19,800 pounds, and the price of a ton of paper weighing 55/54 grams to 19,400 pounds.
The head of the division added that the price of paper weighing 60/58 grams rose to 18,600 pounds, the price of a ton of paper weighing 70/68 grams to 18,400 pounds, and the price of a ton of paper weighing 87/80 grams to 18,400 pounds.
He stated that it was for the first time during the month of December that a ton of paper weighing 70 and 80 grams each were equally priced, noting that there is usually a price difference between them of around 100 pounds per ton. This was because of an increase in demand for the 80 gram paper from Libya during the month of December, the first time in two years explained Khader.
He also expects a further leap in the price of writing and printing papers in the coming months, in light of the continued increase in demand for raw materials globally. During November, writing and printing paper rates climbed by 1,700 pounds a ton.
Khader puts Egypt’s paper imports between 50% and 60%, while the rest are produced locally. Egypt imports paper from many countries including Finland and Brazil.
