Readers have been asking why Cook Islands News has reduced the number of pages in mid-week editions in recent weeks.

Publisher John Woods says it’s to curb production issues, due mainly to a newsprint shortage, and to absorb continuing cost increases affecting newsprint, ink, plates and shipping, complicated by the loss of several staff members including several accepting job offers in New Zealand.

“Instead of passing on price increases which would lift our cover charge and advertising rates, we are economizing short term by reducing week-day editions to eight pages, which lowers our production costs and alleviates pressure on our limited stocks of newsprint until the next shipment arrives mid-July, provided there are no delays to ships at sea,” Woods said.

“We are dealing with added challenges caused by Kiwi staff severing contracts in favour of higher paying jobs in New Zealand, and a general scarcity of newsprint following the closure of paper mills in New Zealand and Australia.

“Nowadays we are having to access supply chains relying exclusively on southern hemisphere service by paper mills in Asia. Our own newsprint currently comes from Thailand making lead times for ordering and freight forwarding very difficult These problems have caused drastic reductions to page numbers and even the elimination of week day editions by some newspapers in Australasia.”

Cook Islands News last increased its cover charge in 2014 and advertising rates in 2019.

John Woods