Expensive Tissue Pushes Nairobians To Alternative Methods

The rising cost of tissue paper has seen Nairobians adopt waste tissue papers which is going for cheaper prices.

The waste tissue business has expanded in the black markets owing to the high demand, as a result of expensive tissue paper. For instance, a roll of tissue paper that was retailing at 20 shillings in May is currently retailing at 40 shillings with some brands selling at 55 shillings.

On the other hand, a roll of waste tissue is retailing at 15 shillings for the small roll and 70 shillings for the Jumbo roll, making it a better choice for the Nairobians who are already struggling with the ever-escalating food basket.

Waste tissues are those rolls that are usually rejected by the manufacturing companies, owing to their poor quality. Many manufacturing companies recycle these low-grade tissue papers to produce good-quality finished products for commercial sale.

Tissue paper manufacturers have attributed the price increase to the cost of raw materials, which has gone up significantly.  Normally, manufacturing companies usually use the waste paper available in the country and only import pulp when there is a shortage amidst growing demand.

However, the move by some players in the sector to import the commodity when there is no deficit in the country is spiking the product’s price, hurting the consumers. Moreover, the price of polythene papers that are used for packaging has also surged significantly.

According to the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), the rise in both domestic and external market forces has also contributed to the price hike.

“This is due to the cost of raw materials used in producing toilet rolls, which has gone up significantly. Kenya imports most of the raw materials from Egypt. The producing nation has since increased the per-unit cost by 50 percent, compared to the prices in early 2022,” KAM said.

The high cost of fuel has also affected operations in manufacturing companies since many machines are powered by diesel.