Jute Bag Packing Of Sugar

Total outstanding pegged at Rs 250 cr; a section of trade unions threatens hunger strike if wages are not cleared

Sugar mills have sought complete exemption from packing in jute sacking bags for 2017-18. The industry says sugar as a commodity is unsuitable for packaging in jute bags and hence should be relieved from the compulsory Jute Packaging Materials Act (JPMA), 1987 as has been done for cement and fertilizers in the past. As of now, 20 per cent of the sugar has to be compulsorily packed in jute bags.Sugar mills have argued that the industry has to bear an additional burden of Rs 350 crore if the mandatory jute packaging order is continued for 2017-18. This concern is based on the premise that on an average, the price of jute sacks is up to 2.5 times more than high density polyethylene (HDPE) bags. A 50-kg HDPE bag costs Rs 15-16 compared to Rs 50-51 of a jute sacking bag of same capacity.Abinash Verma, director general, Indian Sugar Mills' Association (ISMA) said, "We have appealed to the textiles ministry to remove sugar from the list of mandatory jute packaging. There is scarcity of ...