Nearly 600 paper traders from 36 associations took part in the All India Conference of the Federation of Paper Traders Associations (FTPA) of India held here on Friday.

Sandeep Saxena, chairman and managing director, Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Paper Limited inaugurated the conference. This event was held to discuss the issues which have an impact on the sector including that of the GST slab revision from 12 to 18 per cent, import challenges and others, according to a press release.

Madras Paper Merchants’ Association, one of the founding members of FTPA organised the 64^th Annual General Meeting of the federation. Mehul Mehta, the outgoing president of FTPA said, “The paper trade and paper products industry is one of India’s key sectors, directly employing over half a million people and indirectly supporting nearly two million livelihoods. Beyond employment, its contribution extends to education, MSME packaging, and knowledge dissemination through print. The business and technical sessions would make use of the wide representation of the industry for the deliberations on GST, sustainability, and future industry challenges.”