The Sri Lanka Printers’ Association says that the printing industry is facing a severe crisis due to the shortage of paper in the market.
Selvam Kethish, treasurer of the association, says small-scale printers are leaving the printing industry due to the limited amount of papers and rising prices.
Paper imports are currently restricted due to the dollar shortage. As a result, there is a severe shortage of paper in the country.
Due to this shortage of paper, many newspapers stopped printing and started publishing online.
Newspaper publishers have also taken steps to increase newspaper prices by restricting the number of printed newspapers.
Samantha Indeewara of the Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association says that the printing of books has been restricted and the prices of printed books have to be increased significantly.
However, despite a shortage of paper in the country, the government still has enough stocks of paper for a year, said the Head of the Government Press, Ganga Kalpani.
