There is no respite in the newsprint front however. It is learnt that Hindustan Newsprint is having 13,500 tonnes of stock which it is not able to dispose. Tamilnadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd has changed its production mix to 80 per cent printing and writing paper leaving only 20 per cent for newsprint, which is executed only against orders.

There has been a 20 per cent drop in paper prices between April and June.

Stocklots for newsprint is coming in at $400 to $450 per tonne, particularly from Canadian mills. But there is news that these mills would layoff production for a while till newsprint prices pick up.

Dumping from S Korea has reducedwith the Korean economy picking up. With some of the larger mills taken over by Canadian companies in Korea, priorities are shifting in these companies. Meanwhile China has levied anti-dumping duties against Canada, the US and Korea for paper and there is a chance that these stocks would be pushed here, according to officials in the paper industry.

Newsprint prices in April this year was Rs 22,500 per tonne (average price) far less than Rs 23,600 per tonne last April. However local companies are able to compete on the export front in printing and writing paper with pulp and paper prices rising globally. For the southern paper mills there is a good export opportunity and demand from neighbouring countries as also Indonesia, Egypt and Australia.

In the domestic market, local companies have ceased dumping paper as was happening in the last two years. Pipeline stocks have been sold and companies are more comfortable with current stockholding positions.

The notebook season was very good for the southernplayers and there were price increases in stages by about Rs 800 to Rs 1000. The good news is that the market has been able to absorb this.