LAHORE - The traders have asked the government to take immediate steps to lower paper prices by reducing LC margin on its import, as 100 percent LC margin is promoting paper smuggling, besides causing hike in inflation.

They also demanded of the government to allow duty-free import of printing paper, which would also help bring down prices of books and notebooks to enable poor students to get education. Pakistan Industrial & Traders Association Front (PIAF) chairman Mian Nauman Kabeer said that the over 30 percent increase in paper prices has caused undue damage to the government efforts aimed at promotion of education in the country.

The PIAF chairman along with senior vice chairman Nasir Hameed Khan and vice chairman Javed Iqbal Siddiqui, in a meeting with paper industry stakeholders, said that the business community is ready to supplement all government efforts aimed at promotion of trade and industry but it would have to solve all the genuine issues to bring economy out of woods.

Mian Nauman said that due to an unjustified hike in paper prices the common man was unable to pursue the education of his children. He said that the country was already lagging behind in the field of education and if immediate remedial steps were not taken the situation could further deteriorate.

He said the government should pay immediate attention towards this major issue which was crushing both traders and masses. It is unfortunate that the prices of paper products have increased by Rs30 per kilogram, while Regulatory Duty was also imposed on imported paper.

 Resultantly, the prices of books and copies had been increased around 30 percent and it had become very hard for the common man to continue education of his children.

He said that Local paper Mills have increased the prices of papers much more as compare to the effect and they are creating monopoly by shutting down the shifts for three days in a week affecting shortage of the paper in the local market, their cartel of monopoly should be checked immediately.