Save the newspaper industry

Newsprint is where the crisis lies. The local production capacity is nothing to write home about, comprising as it does, only 25 percent of the total requirement. Even the supply of this minimum quantity is irregular and poor in quality, its rolls often containing shredded newsprint which chokes printing, apart from the time-waste. The remainder 75 percent of the total demand has to be met by importing from the international market where the price of newsprint per tonne in the last two years has soared by $150 which in taka terms is a lot of money because of devaluation against dollar.

On top of the purchase price, a whole array of costs are to be borne: 25 percent import tax, vat, surcharge, advance income tax, PSI, DF vat, port charges, shipping agency charge, insurance and transport costs. All these work out to a good 60 percent increase in price of newsprint over its C&F cost. The cost per tonne stands at Tk 59,500.

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That is not all the trouble. An NRB rule insists, apparently ignoring structural deficiencies in the newsprint supply as elaborated above, that a newspaper publisher has to purchase 50 percent of the ABC quota from the local newsprint market to qualify for the exemption of 25 percent tariff on the other 50 percent allowed to be imported from international market. Realistically, this is not a workable formula; in fact, what is given by one hand is taken away by another.

The viability of newspaper industry is further jeopardised by the low rate of government advertisement and the flawed ad distribution policy of the DFP which favours less known newspapers having government leanings. Furthermore, the delayed, staggered payments for DFP ads complicate any financial planning exercise.

Under the circumstances, we strongly plead for withdrawal of import tariff on newsprint for newspaper industry; short of which, the government may fix the minimum rate at 5 percent. Secondly, given the manufacturing capacity and product quality of the local newsprint industry, the insistence on 50 percent purchase from them must be done away with. Thirdly, the DFP advertisement rate be raised to Tk 500 per column inch.

The government should be positively responsive to these demands in deference to the newspapers' recognised role worldwide as the upholder of democracy, good governance, transparency and accountability, the sum-total of what a democratic polity is all about.