Newspaper cuts circulation

BENGKULU, Bengkulu: Semarak Bengkulu daily has cut its circulation from 5,500 to 4,500 due to the ongoing paper crisis, its manager, Suparno, said yesterday.

Not only is the daily hurt by the nationwide shortage of newsprint but also by production costs, which have soared from 30 percent to 60 percent, he told the Antara news agency.

Many subscribers canceled their subscriptions after the rate was raised from Rp 9,000 (US$4) to Rp 13,000 per month, he said. The paper's retail price has also risen from Rp 400 to Rp 550 per copy.

Semarak Bengkulu needs 10 tons of newsprint every month, which is supplied by the Jakarta-based Jawa Pos Group.

He said he is optimistic that the newspaper can survive the current crisis although its income from ads covers only 10 percent of the production cost. (pan)