EghtesadOnline: The production of all types of paper saw a 35% rise in the 10-month period since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2017-Jan. 20) compared with last year’s corresponding period to reach 640,000 tons, an official with the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.

EghtesadOnline: “Dear readers, our magazine will not be printed this week in protest against the terrible paper situation.” That was an announcement made by Ali Mirfattah, the editor-in-chief of Persian weekly Kargadan on Dec. 8, 2017.

EghtesadOnline: Paper is one of the necessity goods whose import is not monopolized by a company or individual, a statement by the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade reads.

EghtesadOnline: A paper production factory was launched by President Hassan Rouhani at Amirabad Port in the northern Mazandaran Province on Tuesday.

EghtesadOnline: Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh has written a letter to First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri, calling for a 5% rise in import tariffs on paper to reach 10% to protect domestic producers, which has been opposed by the main domestic users.

EghtesadOnline: The talk of tariff hikes on paper imports never fails to send shivers down the spine of most consumers, particularly newspapers.

EghtesadOnline: Two-thirds of the paper needed in the Iranian market come from foreign countries, therefore it is not logical to raise import tariffs, says Gholamreza Kateb, a member of Majlis Culture Commission.