The report says that the latest Harry Potter and Dan Brown are not so affordable anymore. Nothing to cry over. But it also says the same of classic Chinese fiction -- now that is sad.
Price of paper in China is reported to be up by 10% due to 'voracious demand' and 'a crackdown on small, polluting paper mills’ to clean up the environment. So far only China appears to be affected. But the problem is, many publishers in the United States and Europe having their books printed in China to reduce printing costs. Penguin UK is said to spend about 60 per cent of its manufacturing budget in China. Not much longer, from the looks of it.
China is the United States' biggest offshore supplier of print products, mainly books, and, according to government statistics, exports of paper products from China rose by 76% between 2005 and 2006.
In a quiz show, the correct answer to the question, 'Who invented paper?' would be China. China is said to have invent paper around the 2nd century, before it was spread to the Arab world and Europe via the Silk Road. So thee country that started the revolution might also end it. Prices of books are bound to go up. It might make more sense to retail bestsellers like Harry Potter and Dan Brown as electronic downloads. (Thus, freeing the paper supply for the rest of us? Nothing wrong with wishful thinking, I guess! And it doesn't cost anything.)
International Herald Tribune
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