“Carton prices rose by almost 50 percent year on year. However, the price increase concerns not only paper products, but also plastics and other packaging materials, “said Michal Ondomiši, Alza.cz’s director of logistics.
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According to him, the lack of paper on the market is manifested mainly by the extension of its delivery dates and the need to plan orders at least three to four months in advance.
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According to Alza, rising prices of packaging material should not be reflected in the prices of Christmas shipments. “On the one hand, we are still looking for ways to reduce the volume of packaging materials not only with regard to their price, but also with regard to the environment. These include, for example, the multiple use of cartons. At the same time, we do not charge for the packaging of consignments, “Ondomiši assured.
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In practice, this works in Alga by unpacking boxes from suppliers very carefully in the warehouse, so that they can then also be used to ship goods to customers.
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“Our costs for packaging materials have recently increased by more than 30 percent,” Mall.cz spokeswoman Pavla Hobíková told Práva. “However, we do not plan to reflect the increase in costs in transport prices,” she also added, mainly towards pre-Christmas sales.
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“Prices of paper bags or boxes are growing at a double-digit rate. At the same time, we have to order them significantly more in advance, even twice the original time. This places increased demands on order planning. Fortunately, we can rely on existing suppliers, so we do not have bag outages, “said Košík.cz spokesman František Brož.
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According to him, the e-shop is trying to reduce packaging to a minimum in the long run. “We were able to gradually reduce the number of paper bags and microtene bags by a third by changing our logistics. And we support take-back and subsequent consistent recycling – whether of our bags or, for example, cardboard boxes, if the customer does not use them, “added Brož.
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“Now the company that has the best prices, but which has the material, does not win the market,” the executive of one of the North Moravian paper mills, who did not want to be named, told Práva. Its paper mill doubled its stocks in time and is therefore now at an advantage over some competitors.
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He added that in the printing industry, prices in the last three quarters of the year have risen in each category by at least 10 percent, but mostly significantly more. “Cardboard is the most unavailable, it was bought after production was reduced last year due to covid. At the same time, the demand tripled with the rise of e-commerce, “added the head of the paper mill.
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Therefore, prices are also rising in repurchases, where not only newspaper publishers but also cardboard manufacturers are looking for paper. While a year ago the purchase price of recovered newsprint ranged from CZK 0.50 to CZK 1.50 per kilogram, now it is around four crowns. For cartons, buyers pay around CZK 1.50 per kilogram.
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The market situation gives wrinkles on the forehead and book publishers. According to some, there is a risk that there will be fewer books on the Christmas market due to a lack of paper. According to them, the problem is throughout Europe and is probably related to the Chinese market.
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A novelty or a reprint?
According to its director Antonín Kočí, the Euromedia Group publishing house is not, as a major player on the market, dependent on only a few selected paper mills. “Nevertheless, we are not able to publish all the books we would like this year. It may happen that we will not print some successful books by Christmas, “he confirmed to Práva.
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“Unfortunately, sometimes we sometimes have to decide whether to print a novelty or to reprint a successful title, which we know would definitely sell,” Kočí added.
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