Corrugated box makers of eastern India plan 3-day shutdown to protest rising input material price

Corrugated box makers of eastern India are going for a three-day shutdown from March 11 to 13 to protest the relentless rise of input material price and lack of action by the government to look into their worsening situation, an industry body said on Wednesday.Corrugated box manufacturers are one of the crucial supply chain partners and offer eco-friendly alternatives to wooden and plastic packaging and belong to MSMEs.Kraft Paper and board prices are increasing relentlessly since November, 2020.

Corrugated box makers of eastern India are going for a three-day shutdown from March 11 to 13 to protest the relentless rise of input material price and lack of action by the government to look into their worsening situation, an industry body said on Wednesday.

Corrugated box manufacturers are one of the crucial supply chain partners and offer eco-friendly alternatives to wooden and plastic packaging and belong to MSMEs.

''Kraft Paper and board prices are increasing relentlessly since November, 2020. There is an increase of 60 to 65 per cent so far. Entrepreneurs are suffering immensely due to the unabated increase in input costs,'' Eastern India Corrugated Box Manufacturers' Association president Mohit Bajaj said.

The situation is critical and the very survival of the industry is under threat that offers direct employment to one lakh and 15 lakh indirect job opportunities, he said ''We draw the attention of the government to ease the availability of kraft paper (raw material of paper mills) and to monitor export of kraft paper so that domestic requirements are met,'' he said.