I n a fast-growing Digital World, the first question that crosses our mind is : Are we going “paperless” ?
Does “going paperless” mean no more Posters ? no more Shopping Bags ? no more Tissue Paper ? no more Banknotes ? Or no more Books, Newspapers or Magazines ?...
Let’s stop for a second and think… Are we really “going paperless” ?
Well, I hope not, but at least for the moment, as I am writing this, and you are reading it, that means “we are not !” and thank God for that !
From the so-called “Digital World” to the so-called “Paper World”, let’s us zoom-in precisely to the Gulf World, to get some answers to our question about “going paper”, or “going paperless”.
According to the report of the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC), the number of investments in paper production has achieved a growth rate of about $ 3.9 billion in 2015, increasing from about $ 2.6 billion in 2010, which increased by 49% during this period, and by an annual compound rate of 8.3%.
Zooming closer ; the report shows that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia topped the list with cumulative investments of more than $ 3 billion, and a relative contribution of 77.5% of the total GCC investments in 2015 in the paper products, followed by the UAE with 14.2%, Kuwait by 4.6%, Oman by 2%, then Qatar, Bahrain with a few percentages.
The UAE that contributes with 14.2%, hosts several paper mills with products and brands very much known in the Gulf, MENA and worldwide.
In printing and writing, the Gulf region is witnessing a rise and growth according to Mr. Abdullah AL Khateeb ; Project Manager of Ittihad Paper Mill project that will soon see the light in the UAE.
Mr. Al Khateeb in response of echoes from industrialists who believe that paper is becoming a dying industry, explains in the following pages that this belief is not that accurate, especially after the figures the Gulf region gave relating the paper industry.
He assures that the Gulf and the Arab World witness growth, and that soon the UAE is going to witness on the rise of another mill ; Ittihad Paper Mill that will be constructed in Abu Dhabi to add to this growing market, another 300,000 tons a year of printing and writing paper.
Nevertheless, challenges are there, in a way or another, and it seems that the most important challenge facing the paper industry in the GCC, is to provide promising investment opportunities in larger consumer markets. Saying that, I leave you with this, for you to discover the full content, that I hope you are going to enjoy