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Union minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday said his goal is to increase the price of finished jute bags from Rs 1,15,000 per tonne to Rs 2 lakh in the near future, driven by value addition through innovations and modernisation efforts. Speaking to reporters here, the Union minister of textiles said, "This is possible with close coordination between all stakeholders, including the government, mills, and farmers." He also informed that the Centre had approved a new pricing formula for jute bags meant for government procurement for foodgrains packaging. Singh said, "the sale of jute products is expected to cross Rs 14,000 crore this year," demonstrating the growth and potential of the industry. The growth of the golden fibre, he said, "will benefit around 4 lakh jute mill workers and 40 lakh farmer families engaged in its cultivation, primarily in West Bengal." During his visit to ICAR-CRIJAF, Barrackpore, the minister met industry representatives to review the sector and discussed "va
India has extended anti-dumping duty on imports of certain jute products from Nepal and Bangladesh for five years, a move aimed at protecting domestic players from cheap inbound shipments. These duties were imposed following recommendations of the commerce ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR). The DGTR, in its probe in September last year, concluded that there is continued dumping of these products from Nepal and Bangladesh and the imports are likely to enter the Indian market at dumped prices in the event of cessation of existing duty. It had recommended continued imposition of the anti-dumping duty on the imports to remove injury to the domestic industry. According to a notification of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the duty imposed "shall be levied for a period of five years (unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier)". The duty ranges between USD 6.3 per tonne and USD 351.72 per tonne. It is applicable to produc
The Jute Advisory Board (JAB) has sounded the warning bugle for the industry on distress sale of raw jute for this fiscal. The board's concerns stem from the shrinking area under cultivation of the crop.The board is skeptical on any increase in cultivable area for jute in 2018-19. Farmers are losing interest in jute cultivation as they are forced into distress sale of their produce, JAB pointed out.For 2018-19, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has hiked the Minimum Support Price (MSP) on raw jute by Rs 2000 per tonne to Rs 37,000 per tonne. However, JAB at a recent meeting, observed that market prices of raw jute ruled consistently below MSP during 2017-18.Since 2013, area under raw jute cultivation has receded by 9.5 per cent. Figures of the Union agriculture ministry show jute is cultivated on 0.68 million hectares as opposed to the target of 0.83 million hectares. West Bengal, the biggest jute producer, has even lower estimates, pointing out that the crop can be ...