AUSTRALIA'S IMPORT DEMAND FOR PRINTING AND WRITING PAPER: A SHORT RUN ESTIMATE.

In Australia, tariffs and bounties form the major instruments of protection of manufacturing industries (IAC 1985). In the recent past, both tariffs and bounties were applied to the printing and writing paper industry. Recently, the bounties have been withdrawn. The main objective of the present study is to identify and quantify the factors which influence the size and growth of imports of printing and writing paper in the short run. More specifically, the factors determining the short run demand for and supply of printing and writing papers are considered, with emphasis on the relationship between domestic supply and imports. Domestic production of printing and writing paper is dominated by one producer, Associated Pulp and Paper Mills (APPM). However, two other local producers, who previously specialised in other types of paper, have recently increased their production of printing and writing paper as a result of the favourable outlook for these types of paper. Imports are a major competitive force in this market. The domestic market share of the printing and writing paper segment held by local producers was 58 per cent in 1975-76 and 50 per cent in 1984-85, but was as low as 58 per cent in 1981-82. Some of the imports, however, face no competition from domestic products. The identification of products which can and cannot be directly substituted for domestically produced papers is a difficult task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]