Newsprint Now Costs Over £50 a Ton

Chronicle (Levin), 13 March 1948, Page 5

Newsprint Now Costs Over £50 a Ton

'WELLINGTON, sfai'eh 12c The landed eost of netttsprint to Xew Zealand publishers will be iriereased by anotlier £2 5s 4d per ton as from April 1, aeeording to adviee reeeived from Canada by tlie Ndwspaper Proprietors Association. This will bring the priee of newsprint to about treble what H was before the war. In 1938 the landed eost of newsprint was approximateh £13 10s a ton but throughout the vtai yeai;s the priee ro&e steeply to £3,5 10s a ton at the ccssation of liostilities. But this was not tiie end of tlie priee inereases. During 194(5 further nses added another £3 to the eost. The priee inereases eontinued throughout 1947 and the landed eost has now risen te a new level of close 011 "£47 a ton. fmporting newsprint into New Zealan'd does not finisli at New Zealand main ports and if-'is estiniated that with -this iatesr rise. it will eost New Zealand publishers at main ports about £50 a Hon byl. thq time- .tlieir paper is 011 flu iiiaehiitekvfgiidyyfpr p'rint|a'g. -For mpvvproviueial papers the rise will be far in exeess of £50 owing to heavy freight I ehaxges to varioUs provincial tcwns. Before the war Newspaper Proprietors' Association members . imported about 31,000 tons of newsprint annual] v. This year owing to the dollar erisis aiid the i-mport restrietions importations for members have been held down to T7,00o tons or only a little over half the prewar imports.