Jute The Obscure Rises From The Ashes

The sun is shining again for the so-called sunset industry. Written off as a product in terminal decline not very long ago, Indias former golden crop is rising, like the proverbial phoenix, to reclaim its previous glory.

The remarkable turnaround began with a simple realisation: the steady decline in international demand made diversification imperative. This brought the industry face-to-face with its greatest packaging challenge; repositioning the products boring image to a trendy one.

The industrys success in rising to the challenge can be gauged from the fact that jute is finding a place in rather unexpected places. Ford Escort is using it for its moulded carpets, dress designers are using it for outfits, shirts and headgear, and Indian Railways has found jute-laminated sheets a useful substitute for fibreglass while manufacturing coach roofs.

 

From curtains to slippers, jute is the in fabric all of a sudden. A new range of handbags was recently launched in Delhi. The choice of retail outlets was telling: Archies, the outfit that trend-conscious teens throng to.

The jute industrys revival has been spearheaded by a textiles ministry programme, assisted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which seeks to develop diversified jute products for exports and the domestic market.

The aim is to revive the traditional jute industry by introducing a new range of products like rugs, durries, apparel, handbags, and soft luggage, which have a substantial jute component.

The National Jute Programme, which was launched in 1992, is the largest single project jointly sponsored by the UNDP and the textiles ministry. UNDPs funding in the project amounts to about $23 million. According to programme manager Ajay Prasad, the programme has helped spread the industry to the non-traditional jute states of Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

The task of developing diversified jute products was assigned to the Technological Institute of Textile and Sciences, a technical training institute under the National Jute Programme. Institute director R C D Kaushik, who has been associated with the institute for 40 years, insists that hes never seen such a strong and growing demand for jute.

In the absence of data, he cites the sharp rise in jute yarn prices to support his claim. Jute blended suitings in wool and polyester, jute-based paper, boards for furniture, visiting cards made of jute and other such products are projected to develop into an industry which will earn Rs 1,000 crore worth of foreign exchange annually by the turn of the century. Raw jute exports amounted to around Rs 630 crore in 1996-97.

Exports of diversified jute products so far constitute only 15 per cent of total jute exports.

But this ratio will almost certainly change, given that exports of floor coverings, hand and shopping bags, wall hangings, gift articles and decorative fabrics have risen by an annual average of 170 per cent in the past four years.

Exporters in Panipat are excited by this sudden burst of activity but complain that they are handicapped by a lack of amenities.

Domestic marketing is practically nil, power is a perennial problem and export orders dont keep their mills running round the clock. Sudhir Chaudhary, proprietor of a Rs 6 crore export house, Surya International, argues that the government should give excise reliefs for products developed as jute blends.

Such is the excitement created by this nascent industry that a young designer from National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) insists on travelling daily from Delhi to Panipat and back to teach at the Technological Institute. The commute is tiring, but she doesnt mind as long as she has her jute handbag and slippers.