Cut number of pages, papers told<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto suggested yesterday that, in
\nview of the current newsprint crisis, newspaper publishers should
\nreduce the number of pages rather than raising sale prices.<\/p>\n
\"The President suggested that, as newsprint prices are still
\nhigh, the number of newspaper pages had better be reduced
\ntemporarily,\" Minister of Industry Tunky Ariwibowo told
\njournalists after meeting Soeharto at the Merdeka Palace here.<\/p>\n
Current Indonesian regulations limit the number of newspaper
\npages to a maximum of 20, and most dailies have between eight and
\n16 pages.<\/p>\n
The newsprint crisis hit Indonesia last month when a number of
\nsmall newspaper publishers encountered newsprint shortages. The
\ncrisis has resulted from the increasing prices of raw materials
\n-- waste paper and long-fiber pulp -- on the international
\nmarket.<\/p>\n
Local newsprint prices are expected to increase next month
\nfrom the current level of Rp 1,700 (76 U.S. cents) per kilo,
\nwhich is effective until the end of this month.<\/p>\n
Newsprint producers and newspaper publishers have held a
\nseries of negotiations on a new price of newsprint for next
\nmonth. However, they have so far failed to reach agreement.
\nToday, they are scheduled to meet again to resume and finalize
\ntheir talks under the auspices of the ministry of industry.<\/p>\n
\"In working out a new price, we have to have reference to the
\nproduction costs of newsprint companies and the purchasing power
\nof newsprint consumers,\" Tunky said.<\/p>\n
In the previous negotiations, newsprint producers have argued
\nfor a new price of Rp 2,450 per kilo, while newspaper publishers
\n-- the main consumers of newsprint -- have held out for a price
\nof less than Rp 2,000.<\/p>\n
Kusmadi, president of the state-owned newsprint firm PT Kertas
\nLeces, said earlier that his company's production costs were Rp
\n2,320 a kilo. Lee Won Je, president of PT Aspex Paper, the other
\nnewsprint producer, said his company's production costs were
\nlower than those of Kertas Leces but higher than the current
\nnewsprint price of Rp 1,700.<\/p>\n
Tunky said Soeharto had suggested that Indonesia build its own
\nlong-fiber pulp plants to lower local newsprint producers'
\ndependence on imports.<\/p>\n
\"If we can produce our own pulp for newsprint, our production
\ncosts will be lower than those of other countries as we have all
\nthe raw materials. It is expected, therefore, that the price of
\nnewsprint can further reduced,\" Tunky said.<\/p>\n
Local newsprint producers currently import almost 100 percent
\nof the raw materials they use. Indonesia, which aims to be one of
\nthe world's largest pulp exporters, produces only a small amount
\nof long-fiber pulp.<\/p>\n
According to the ministry of industry, Indonesia's newspaper
\npublishers need 12,000 tons of newsprint a month, of which
\n10,500 tons is supplied by Aspex and the rest by Kertas Leces.<\/p>\n
Aspex and Kertas Leces were the country's only producers of
\nnewsprint until PT Gede Karang, owned by the Pos Kota Group,
\nbegan limited newsprint production recently. However, Gede Karang
\nsupplies newsprint only to publishers within the Pos Kota Group.<\/p>\n
The World Bank was quoted by Reuters yesterday as saying in
\nits annual report, which has not yet been officially released,
\nthat Indonesia's pulp and paper industries are run like cartels.<\/p>\n
Locally, Handjojo Nitimihardjo, chairman of the association of
\nnewspaper publishers, accused newsprint producers of using
\n\"market monopoly\" to seek the largest possible profits.<\/p>\n
The ministry of information's Director General of Press and
\nGraphics Subrata was quoted by Antara as saying that speculation
\nmight be fueling the current newsprint crisis.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the World Bank's report and Subrata's views,
\nTunky said: \"Well, we'll look into the matter.\" (rid)<\/p>",
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