Cut number of pages, papers told
Cut number of pages, papers told
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto suggested yesterday that, in
view of the current newsprint crisis, newspaper publishers should
reduce the number of pages rather than raising sale prices.
"The President suggested that, as newsprint prices are still
high, the number of newspaper pages had better be reduced
temporarily," Minister of Industry Tunky Ariwibowo told
journalists after meeting Soeharto at the Merdeka Palace here.
Current Indonesian regulations limit the number of newspaper
pages to a maximum of 20, and most dailies have between eight and
16 pages.
The newsprint crisis hit Indonesia last month when a number of
small newspaper publishers encountered newsprint shortages. The
crisis has resulted from the increasing prices of raw materials
-- waste paper and long-fiber pulp -- on the international
market.
Local newsprint prices are expected to increase next month
from the current level of Rp 1,700 (76 U.S. cents) per kilo,
which is effective until the end of this month.
Newsprint producers and newspaper publishers have held a
series of negotiations on a new price of newsprint for next
month. However, they have so far failed to reach agreement.
Today, they are scheduled to meet again to resume and finalize
their talks under the auspices of the ministry of industry.
"In working out a new price, we have to have reference to the
production costs of newsprint companies and the purchasing power
of newsprint consumers," Tunky said.
In the previous negotiations, newsprint producers have argued
for a new price of Rp 2,450 per kilo, while newspaper publishers
-- the main consumers of newsprint -- have held out for a price
of less than Rp 2,000.
Kusmadi, president of the state-owned newsprint firm PT Kertas
Leces, said earlier that his company's production costs were Rp
2,320 a kilo. Lee Won Je, president of PT Aspex Paper, the other
newsprint producer, said his company's production costs were
lower than those of Kertas Leces but higher than the current
newsprint price of Rp 1,700.
Tunky said Soeharto had suggested that Indonesia build its own
long-fiber pulp plants to lower local newsprint producers'
dependence on imports.
"If we can produce our own pulp for newsprint, our production
costs will be lower than those of other countries as we have all
the raw materials. It is expected, therefore, that the price of
newsprint can further reduced," Tunky said.
Local newsprint producers currently import almost 100 percent
of the raw materials they use. Indonesia, which aims to be one of
the world's largest pulp exporters, produces only a small amount
of long-fiber pulp.
According to the ministry of industry, Indonesia's newspaper
publishers need 12,000 tons of newsprint a month, of which
10,500 tons is supplied by Aspex and the rest by Kertas Leces.
Aspex and Kertas Leces were the country's only producers of
newsprint until PT Gede Karang, owned by the Pos Kota Group,
began limited newsprint production recently. However, Gede Karang
supplies newsprint only to publishers within the Pos Kota Group.
The World Bank was quoted by Reuters yesterday as saying in
its annual report, which has not yet been officially released,
that Indonesia's pulp and paper industries are run like cartels.
Locally, Handjojo Nitimihardjo, chairman of the association of
newspaper publishers, accused newsprint producers of using
"market monopoly" to seek the largest possible profits.
The ministry of information's Director General of Press and
Graphics Subrata was quoted by Antara as saying that speculation
might be fueling the current newsprint crisis.
Commenting on the World Bank's report and Subrata's views,
Tunky said: "Well, we'll look into the matter." (rid)