India, besides countries like France, the US, Britain, China, Germany, Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia and Austria, will be participating in a 3-day exhibition in Dubai from September 26-28, 2010. The event titled ‘Paper Arabia 2010’ will see 150 exhibitors, mainly from paper, tissue and converting industries, showcase some of the latest technologies in paper production.

This event holds immense significance for the numerous Indian SMEs engaged in paper manufacturing, trading or supplying, as this will allow them to reach out to industry people from the 30 countries that would be participating in the exhibition, including the Middle East market. Incidentally, almost two-third of Middle East’s total paper consumption is imported. The SME-dominated India paper industry already exports certain grades of papers to the Middle East, such as A4 copiers, wood-free, MG varieties and coated duplex, among others.

With paper-based Indian SMEs set to gain fom Paper Arabia 2010, the recent prediction by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) that the domestic paper industry will be growing at 8% annually to reach 11.5 million tonnes by the end of 2011-12 seems to be on the cards.

Sreemita Bhattacharya