Mumbai: Amid reopening of schools, parents feel the pinch as book and stationery prices up 50 per cent

As schools across the city are reopening, parents are bearing the brunt of stationery inflation. Parents have to shell out almost 50 per cent more on school supplies and stationery items. Parents and shopkeepers said there has been a noticeable increase of 35 per cent to 50 per cent in the prices of notebooks, textbooks and papers while pens and pencils are 20-30 per cent more expensive. To add to this, there is also a shortage of books and other items in the market.

Dealers say one of the major reasons is the price hike of raw materials. The price of plastic grains has risen from Rs 80 per kg in 2019 to Rs 160-Rs 170 per kg now. Similarly, the price of paper has risen from Rs 50 per kg in 2019 to Rs 85 per kg. Shashank Shah, owner of Jayant Printery, said, "The industry is now facing a serious supply chain issue, given India imports a large part of its printing raw material or pulp from Russia. Since the Russia-Ukraine war, the supply chain has been restricted." This has also impacted the price of textbooks. Books by private publishers which used to cost Rs 300-Rs 325 are now priced at Rs 400.

Gurbir Singh Gulati, parent of a Std II student, said, "Stationery prices have climbed significantly this year and parents of school-going children, who require notebooks and other stationery products throughout the year, are seeing the impact. There are numerous stationery brands on the market, yet there is no pricing standardisation. Notebooks, pens, pencils, and erasers are necessary items for education and should be classified as essential commodities by the government."

People are seen buying stationery items at Anupam Stationery Superstore in Borivli West. Pic/Anurag Ahire

Sharing the situation on the ground, Ramnik Gala, managing director of Anupam Stationery Superstore Pvt Ltd, said their stores are crowded despite the price rise and supplies are getting out of stock. "Prices of almost all stationery items have spiked as compared to pre-COVID times. However, the major inflation was witnessed in notebooks and other paper-related items as a result of the dearth and price rise of raw materials due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict," Gala said.

He added, "For example, 500 copiers/printing papers were sold at an average of Rs 180 which has not jumped to Rs 250. Long notebooks of 150 pages which used to cost Rs 55-Rs 60, are now priced at Rs 75-Rs 80. There is also a shortage of books and notebooks. If we order 100 cartons of notebooks, we get only 10 to 20 at a time. School bags are also getting costlier as many items that were imported from China and nearby regions have either reduced or stopped supply completely."

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Some traders said it should also be highlighted that, as a result of the economic situation, shipping costs too have risen. Vimal Gada, owner of Paras Stationery and Xerox, a local shop in Dahisar, said, "This has directly hit the customers, dealers and shop owners. A pen that we sold at Rs 10 earlier is now being sold at Rs 15. A 200-page small notebook priced at Rs 45, now costs Rs 60 and more depending on the brand."

Dipesh Tank, founder of Youth for people (YFP) which runs an annual notebook donation drive for underprivileged students of schools in tribal areas of Mokhada and Jawahar, said that they have been forced to reduce the number of books to be donated this year. "For the past seven years, we have been organising a notebook donation drive to support the education of 40,000 students in the Mokhada, Jawahar area of Palghar. The recent price increase in paper and related products has forced us to reduce the number of notebooks we will be giving away this year. The government should step in and assist schools and underprivileged students," said Tank.

30-50
Percentage rise in price of notebooks, textbooks