In the Name of God
With due respect,
Printing and writing paper is one of the most important and sensitive issues in our society, both culturally and economically. Its significance is particularly evident in the field of education, since school textbooks for our dear students — the future assets of our country — depend directly on this paper and the publishing industry.
The annual requirement of the Ministry of Education is approximately 42,000 to 45,000 tons of paper for school textbooks. In addition, nearly the same amount is needed for exercise books and supplementary educational materials. Altogether, this accounts for 80,000 to 90,000 tons of demand. However, the country’s actual annual requirement for printing and writing paper is estimated at around 140,000 to 150,000 tons.
In terms of domestic production capacity, Mazandaran Wood and Paper Company has the potential to produce 65,000 to 70,000 tons, provided that obstacles are removed and favorable conditions are ensured. Other companies, such as Diba Shooshtar and Pars Paper, as well as several others, are currently installing and testing their machinery. By combining these capacities, domestic production could potentially exceed 100,000 tons annually.
Nevertheless, a significant portion of the real demand (around 40,000 to 50,000 tons) must still be supplied through imports.
At present, the paper industry faces several serious challenges, the most important of which are:
• Energy imbalances (electricity, water, and gas): Paper production is a continuous process, and disruptions such as power or gas outages — even for a few days a week — break this continuity, making efficient and economic production almost impossible.
• Shortage of working capital: Banks are reluctant to provide financing to manufacturing units, and the capital market has so far failed to play a meaningful role in financing this sector.
• Foreign currency and raw material issues: Many companies depend on foreign exchange allocations for importing raw materials and spare parts, and insufficient allocation of currency has disrupted production.
In particular, Mazandaran Wood and Paper Company, one of the most important domestic producers, has suffered from these problems — especially power outages and severe financial shortages — resulting in very low production in the first half of the current year.
Given these circumstances, it is recommended that the honorable government and respected importers should not rely solely on domestic production to meet national demand. Even for the coming year, expecting the full market demand to be covered by local production is not realistic.