Ahmed Jaber, Chairman of the Chamber of Printing & Packaging Industries of the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI), said that the prices of local and imported paper have increased by 10% in the month of November, compared to the preceding month.
The average price in November for a tonne of imported paper ranges between 35,000 to 40,000 pounds, and around 20,000 pounds for local paper. The uptick in paper prices, according to Jaber, came after the value of the US dollar increased against the Egyptian pound in the parallel market.
Earlier this week, sources monitoring the exchange market told online news portal Masrawy that the parallel market rate of the dollar, ranging around 50 to 52 pounds during this week’s transactions, did not show a significant shift in value from the end of last week’s transactions.
Jaber said that he expected a further rise in paper prices during the coming period in the event of a new increase in the dollar’s parallel exchange rate.
Egypt imports about 70% to 80% of its paper from abroad, relying on local paper companies to produce the remaining requirement.
