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R. Balaji

Brisk demand for notebooks this year.

CHENNAI, March 22

NOTEBOOKS are likely to cost slightly lesser this year with the price of printing and writing paper ruling soft. With the commencement of the academic year around the corner, the notebook season is set to start and the demand and supply situation is comfortable, say dealers and manufacturers.

According to industry sources, the manufacturers' order books are full, and nearly a month's order is on hand, they said. The production is being fully absorbed despite the recent increase in capacity by both the leading manufacturers in the State - Seshsasayee Paper and Boards Ltd and Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd.

With the price of newsprint down, the printing and writing segment has helped shore up revenues, and the manufacturers are likely to close the year with zero stocks.

Mr A. Sundaram, President, Madras Paper and Board Converters Association, told Business Line that prices could be lower by 50 paise to Re 1 for the conventional 192-page students notebook.

Tamil Nadu consumes about 10,000 - 12,000 tonnes of paper for conversion to notebooks, and there are more than a 1,000 converters in the State.

The industry has a turnover of about Rs 55 crore, and is growing by about five per cent annually, he said.

In the last few years there has also been a shift towards mechanisation and a preference for soft-bound notebooks rather than the conventional hard-bound notebooks, he said.

While the number of manufacturing units has spread with notebook production clusters in every major district, the Tamil Nadu-based units cater to the markets in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

The Kerala market has shifted to soft-bound notebooks while, in the other southern States, soft-bound notebooks account for about 30 per cent of the market, he said.

Chennai city alone requires about 3,000 - 4,000 tonnes and there are about 100-120 notebook converters catering to the neighbouring districts also, he said.

Mr A. Annamalai, of Jeyam and Co, a leading dealer and indenting agent, said the season has just commenced and the demand and supply position was comfortable. The supply from the mills was regular and there was no increase in the retention of stocks with the notebook converters, he said.

Normally, the season would have commenced in February, but with increasing mechanisation and demand for softbound notebooks, the conversion time from paper to notebook had considerably reduced.

Therefore, the season has just begun, he said. This shift has also resulted in a significant reduction in manual labour involved, he said.

The softbound notebooks are also more attractive with multicolour covers and laminated wrappers. These now account for about 50 - 60 per cent of the production.

At the wholesale level, a notebook measuring about 16cm X 20 cm would cost about Rs 96 per dozen and Rs 120 in the retail, he said.

According to the notebook manufacturers, the increase in demand for soft bound notebooks was driven by improved aesthetics, the better quality and lighter weight which represents a 30 per cent reduced load for the school-going children to carry.

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