Paper trade eyes regional market

Paper traders in West Bengal need to foray into paper production and also explore the market beyond the state to boost their trade, said Anadi Kumar Sahu, the state minister of state for labour.

"Investment will not be a constraint for the paper traders who aim to set up their own mills for paper production. They also have to expand their market base beyond the state and tap the entire eastern zone which offers huge scope for paper trading", he added.

Sahu was addressing the members of the Calcutta Paper Traders Association at the association's 89th annual general meeting.

Arvind Sharma, president of Federation of Paper Traders' Association of India pointed out that big corporates like ITC are now manufacturing paper notebooks and this can threaten the business interests of the small time paper traders.

Talking of the problems plaguing the paper traders in West Bengal, Arup Dutt, president of CPTA said, Political unrest in Kolkata as well in the villages of West Bengal has lead to loss of mandays, thereby impacting the paper traders to a great extent.

"This apart, no purchaser is willing to come to the old paper market at China Bazar area in Kolkata as we are not able to provide timely service and there are constraints of road space for goods and traffic movement. Though most of the shops located here are more than half a century old, they are now in a pitiable condition and many of them are facing extinction", he alleged.

Dutt also pointed out that the impostion of fringe benefit tax on partnership firms was causing a serious difficulty for the members of CPTA, most of whom have small partnership units.