Following the sharp price spike of raw materials used for manufacturing corrugated boxes such as kraft paper and duplex board, the Kerala Corrugated Box Manufacturers Association (KeCBMA) has proposed increasing their manufacturing prices.
The price of kraft paper- the key raw material used for manufacturing has increased by more than ₹5 in the last two months. In addition, the prices of other inputs like human resources cost, ink, starch, stitching wire, freight charges, energy charges, and other overheads have also witnessed huge increases, which has forced the association to revise its costing.
Earlier, corrugated cartons (OCC) were imported from European countries. But, due to the scarcity in Europe, OCC are now being imported from the US, which is again costly and scarce. Additionally, most of the mills function only 10-15 days a month. The price of pins, used for manufacturing has also gone up, pressurizing manufacturers to increase the price by 15 percent.
According to Xavier Jose, President of KeCBMA, the uncontrolled price rise was due to the shortage of waste paper following the lockdown imposed after the Covid-19 outbreak and restrictions charged on import. Moreover, during the lockdown, the government announced a moratorium on GST, bank interest, and electricity. But it has now been lifted, and the manufacturers are forced to clear that too. KeCBMA State Coordinator G Rajeev said they couldn’t pay the same as manufacturing has been affected due to the excessive rise in price.
