Compared to January 2022, products increased by 26% on average. This is the case for paper which is certainly in slight decline but which in just over two years has increased by an average of 41%.
A daily newspaper today costs between €2.60 and €3.00 per day to produce, depending on the edition. The temptation is therefore great to increase prices to compensate for the increase in the cost of paper.
Alain Dermonde is a paper buyer at Rossel, the paper sector giant. The group owns 58 press brands, including 14 daily newspapers. Every day, more than 30 tons of paper are used by Rossel, or 1,000 tons per month.
“Making newspapers is becoming more and more expensive”indicates Alain Dermonde, who consumes paper whose price has increased by 40% in two years. “I think we are starting to get to a stable situation, which is very good”he puts things into perspective by evoking a certain ease for “negotiate costs”, given the decreasing demand. “But I think we will never again reach pre-crisis prices, that’s not possible…”
A difficult situation for small businesses
At the other end of the chain, Cédric Barbiaux’s TPE (Very Small Enterprise), which produces menus for the Horeca sector in the form of a comic strip. “There was an initial increase of 15 to 20% after Covid, a second increase of 2.5% last year”he lists. “So we are approaching 25 to 30%, since since then there have been further increases…”
To make these menus, you need cardboard and obviously paper. “A sheet costs 21 cents”shows Cédric Barbiaux to the RTL info teams. “It’s a lot, it’s expensive.” He uses 12,000 per year… “This has an impact on our company, just like the turnover which has decreased at the same time as the increase in the price of paper”laments this business leader. “The difficulty for small businesses, unlike large groups, is that we have to sell much more than before.”
economy paper price paper
