National Jute Board to diversify into geo-textile

In order to save the struggling Jute Industry, the National Jute Board (NJB) is trying to diversify the excess capacity of the Jute mills into geo-textile or civil engineering applications.

"We are trying to diversify the Jute Mills to use their excess capacity for such products which can really take place of this sacking bags... And one of them definitely is geo-textile or the civil engineering application," NJB's Chief Finance Officer N Sengupta said on the sidelines of the 4th Exim Summit of the Indian Chamber of Commerce held here today.

The Jute Industry's annual production ranged around 16 lakh tonnes (LT) of all products, while the total consumption was of around eight to 9 LT for sacking bags which goes to the Government of India and the rest sold either in the domestic or in the export market, Sengupta said.