Indian Forest Records. 
12 
[Vol. IV. 
than it is possible for them to do for large quantities of the imported 
material. 
Costcof paper in India .-—The number of grades of paper found on the 
Indian market is very large and market values vary considerably. The 
following may be taken to be the present average wholesale rates in 
the Calcutta market of the grades most likely to be affected by the 
introduction of a better supply of raw material :— 
Writing paper ....... Rs. 400 per ton. 
Superior printing paper ..... Rs. 330 „ „ 
Common „ „ ..... Rs. 290 „ „ 
Half bleached paper ...... Rs. 280 „ „ 
From the published financial results of the companies concerned during 
recent years, it is clear that these prices carry a margin of profit so 
small that a very slight adverse disturbance of the prevailing condi¬ 
tions would wipe it out altogether. In the opinion of Mr. Kaitt, who 
knows the mills well, this unfortunate [state of affairs is not in the 
least due to deficiencies in the equipment of the mills or in their orga¬ 
nisation and management, but solely to the lack of an adequate supply 
of cheap raw material. 
State of Indian paper market .—To compete with the low prices of 
imported bazar paper it is necessary to produce a pulp at cheaper rates 
than can now be done with Sabai grass, mixed with a certain amount 
of imported wood-pulp, so that some other raw material must be found as 
a substitute, and from the trials recently carried out on a commercial 
scale it is believed that bamboos will answer the purpose. 
There is another factor to be considered in connection with the price 
of the better classes of paper as supplied to Government and large firms 
by the Indian paper-mills, and that is that the cost at which Sabai grass 
paper can be supplied, is now so high that it is nearly possible to import 
equally good paper made of Spruce pulp treated by the sulphite process. 
In other words, the Indian high class papers are in danger of being under¬ 
sold by equal grades of imported spruce paper. It is understood that this 
has already occurred in Madras, and that that Government have given 
up their Indian contracts and taken to European-made paper. This is an 
extremely serious state of affairs for the Indian paper-makers. 
The Indian paper-maker has therefore two interests at stake, one is to 
keep down the cost of manufacturing his better grades of paper so as not 
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