Newspaper prices to increase by Tk 2 from 25 July

The Newspaper Owners’ Association of Bangladesh (NOAB) has decided to increase the prices of newspapers by Tk 2.

As a result of the decision, the newspaper now priced at Tk 10 would be increased to Tk 12. The newspapers that now sell at Tk 5 would be priced at Tk 7.

The NOAB member newspapers would implement the decision from 25 July.

A statement of NOAB on Thursday said they were forced to increase the prices since the newspaper industry of the country is going through an unprecedented crisis.

“The newspaper industry had been passing a crisis throughout the world due to drop in revenue from advertisements and circulation. Bangladesh was no exception either. The situation was exacerbated due to the corona pandemic in 2020, yet we did not increase the prices considering the interest of readers.

“The cost of newspaper publication has seen a huge increase. The price of newsprint, the main raw material of newspapers, started increasing towards the middle of the last year. The prices were doubled in the last few months compared to the first half of last year,” the NOAB statement said.

The organisation also said the expenditure of newspaper publication has doubled due to the increased exchange rate of US dollar, rise in prices of ink, plates and other necessary material and transportation costs.

The statement also said NOAB sought government assistance for the newspaper industry for the last several years, but did not get expected response from the concerned authorities.

The newspaper industry did not even get any government assistance in corona times although all industries were given stimulus packages.

Moreover, corporate tax, import duty and other taxes including VAT remained unchanged in this year's budget, which further worsened the crisis for newspaper industry, the NOAB added.

“We always keep in mind that the readers and well-wishers are our biggest strength. We are pledged-bound to give you the best newspapers. We seek wholehearted cooperation from all our readers and well-wishers,” the NOAB statement said.