The main concern of the passage is to ………..

Paper has been known in one form or another from very early times. The papyrus reeds of the Nile swamps served the ancient Egyptians for sheets upon which to inscribe their records. The Chinese and Japanese, centuries later, were using something more akin to modern paper in substance, an Asiatic paper mulberry, yielding a smooth fibrous material, being utilised. With the spread of learning in Western Europe the necessity of a readier medium made itself felt, and paper began to be manufactured from pulped rags and other substances. Other papermaking staples were later introduced, such as linen, cotton and wood-pulp. The chief raw material in the world paper industry now is wood-pulp, the main exporters being the timber-growing countries of Canada, Sweden and Finland.