The Board of Eurasian Economic Commission decided to reduce temporarily import duties on certain types of paper and board from 15% to 5% of the customs value.
Since late April, import duties for most grades of coated paper and paperboard used in printing will be reduced until 19 January 2014, for multi-layer paper and paperboard with bleached layers - until 31 December 2015.
In March, Ilim Group launched production of coated paper at its site in Koryazhma which can produce 150 thousand tons of paper per year.
Similar production was planned by Investlesprom holding at its Kama pulpmill, but financial and technological problems forced the company to stop production, and in February 2013 the mill was sold.
Import duties for coated paper in the countries of the Customs Union (Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan) were increased to 15% in January 2013.
According to the participants of the publishing market who oppose the growth of import duties on paper, domestic producers of these products are still unable to supply the market.
Representatives of the pulp and paper, in contrast, argue that the reduction of duties will complicate the establishment of production and sales.