Kommersant: Paper books can rise in price by 25% – Rosbalt

Due to the shortage of coated paper for printing books, their cost may increase by 15-25%, Kommersant writes.

Deliveries to Russia of paper and other materials for book printing were suspended in early March due to the situation in Ukraine by key manufacturers of goods, mainly Swedish and Finnish companies. Currently, publishers hope that they will be able to import from China, but the cost of printing books is in any case affected by the weakening of the ruble, since printing houses use mainly foreign inks and glue.

In particular, such book publishing segments as children’s literature, comics, and illustrated books will be the first to suffer from the suspension of paper deliveries. In these segments, releasing some publications on paper of a different quality becomes “virtually meaningless,” industry participants told the publication.

At the same time, problems with paper for book publishing in Russia began before sanctions were introduced and foreign manufacturers began to leave the market. According to the newspaper, participants in the industry complained about the shortage of paper last year. According to the Russian Book Union (RKS), by the end of 2021, paper has risen in price by 20%.

On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an emergency appeal to the Russians and announced a special military operation in the Donbass. In his speech, he stated that “circumstances require decisive action from Russia” and stressed that “Russia will not allow Ukraine to have nuclear weapons.” In response to Russia’s actions, Western countries (USA, Canada, EU, UK, Japan) announced new, tougher sanctions against the Russian Federation, including financial and economic ones.

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