Warrnambool business preparing for paper shortage

Darrian Office Supplies director Darryl Twycross said he had been advised by his suppliers that a paper shortage was looming.

Australian paper supplies have been falling since the Supreme Court ordered government-owned timber business VicForests to scale back harvesting in parts of Victoria where two endangered possum species live, the Australian Associated Press reports.

That December decision triggered a crisis for VicForest's client Opal Australian Paper, which runs paper producer Maryvale's mill.

Mr Twycross said the store had plenty of paper in stock and had not been forced to introduce customer limits like some other retailers across the nation had.

"Suppliers are looking at importing paper, which means the cost will go up until this dispute is sorted," Mr Twycross said.

"Our next order, which will come in the next month or so, will probably be imported paper."

Mr Twycross said he believed the cost per packet of copy paper would increase by between $1 and $2.

He said it was the first time he had experienced a paper shortage.

"When we first heard about it, it was a bit of a shock," Mr Twycross said.

Staff at Darrian Office Supplies will be kept busy this week as eager students collect their supplies for school, which starts next week.

VicForests is appealing the Supreme Court's decision and a hearing is scheduled for late March, AAP reports.

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