Gone are the days when the Russian book market dominated the Ukrainian book market. Publishers out there will probably have to forget about the huge circulations and profits. Channel 24 has dealt with another vulnerability.

On, on and on once again

• Russian printing houses are currently looking for ways to circumvent this. lack of coated paper and paint.
• The first is mainly imported. Europe accounted for 70 percent of all deliveries. Finland was the main supplier of coated paper from EU countries to Russia (42% of total imports). This was followed by Germany (10%) and Sweden (8%).
• Now the EU has banned the import of this material into the occupier’s territory, and this will affect the entire book industry.
• Stocks made before the active phase of the war will be enough for two or three months. And the deficit is still estimated at 40 percent of what is needed, according to the Russian Ministry of Culture. Exactly how the accounts were made is unknown, but given the Russian government’s propensity to lie and downplay problems, they are unlikely to be reliable.

Under these conditions, the book industry will have to use the local varieties of offset paper that the country still produces in sufficient quantities or to cover its deficit by shifting to imports from other regions, especially from China. But their products are 80-100 percent higher, according to propagandists. According to the results of 2020, China’s share in total coated paper imports was 16 percent.

Russia itself also produces coated paper, but only two companies do this, and they can only cover 15-20 percent of the market.

Russia is monochrome and not very

• However, if we can still talk about the replacement of European paper with Chinese, then Russia can hardly rely on Chinese paints.
• Printing inks are also included in the list of goods whose import is prohibited within the scope of the fifth sanction package.
• Publishers hope that at least some of the suppliers will continue to ship paints under old pre-signed contracts, otherwise the ink stock for book printing will be sufficient for two months. If you can already order – for four months.
• Publishers believe that an alternative to Europe will not be found immediately.
• Interestingly, it is not only about colored paints, but also about black and white. Even the so-called role-playing paint used in the mass literature segment, black and white books with a circulation of 1,000, were sanctioned.
• Generally, the new sanctions are expected to increase the price of the production of books significantly and to eliminate premium materials, including varnishes.

After deciphering all the codes in the sanctions list, it can be concluded that the import of almost all printing ink from the EU is prohibited, and in this sense, books, newspapers and magazines cannot be separated,
– says the general director of the printing complex “Pushkin Square” Mykhailo Bakiv.

According to Kommersant, dealers will look for similar ones in China, South Korea and Turkey, but the order’s lead time will be between two and four months at most. Even if the suppliers move very quickly, the printing presses will be stopped until the end of July.