The Deputy Federal Minister for Communications, Mr. Alexander Zharov, said that the Russian government will lower the import duty on light coated paper from the current 15 per cent to 5 per cent. He broke this news, long awaited by Russian publishers and printers, at the opening ceremony of the 5th Publishing Expo held in Moscow on 2-3 November. Russia does not produce light coated paper; high import tariffs have disadvantaged Russian printers compared to their foreign competitors. The government decision will bring back home many printing orders from publishers of glossy magazines.
The Publishing Expo is an annual event organized by the Guild of Press Publishers, the leading Russian association of newspaper and magazine publishers. It brings together domestic and international publishers, printers, distributors, suppliers and is universally regarded as the industry's main event of the year.
