Jute Board warns of distress sale on dwindling cultivable area

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 sceptical 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