Bengal hopes German tech will save jute

To promote alternate usage of jute, West Bengal's agriculture department is keen to import some German technology to enable processing of jute for newsprint.

West Bengal accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the world's net jute production.

It is now looking at identifying more diversified uses of the crop as jute is no longer the preferred packaging material.

"Newsprints are in high demand. I have already spoken to the state industries minister Nirupam Sen on the issue of bringing in the technology from Germany and locating a private partner here for commercialising jute processing for newsprint", said Naren De, state agriculture minister.

This initiative would help the jute growers find a market for their produce and, in turn, boost the ailing jute industry.

The state government is planning to take the help of the Central Research Institute for Jute & Allied Fibres (CRIJAF) at Barrackpore to co-develop the technology.

However, newsprint produced from jute could cost a premium over existing newsprint rates, the minister admitted.

West Bengal had produced 82 lakh bales of jute last fiscal.

One bale contains 82 kilogram of jute.