Jute Industry

Jute industry faced crisis in 2025 amid input shortage, soaring prices

The jute industry went through another year of crisis with a sharp raw material shortage, record-high prices and a growing dependence on plastic bags for food grain packaging, unsettling the sector. What began as a mismatch between raw jute availability and statutory packaging demand earlier in the year gradually intensified into a deep-rooted crisis by December, with farmers shifting towards alternative crops such as maize, a key factor behind the decline in jute cultivation. According to government data, jute acreage during the Kharif season stood at around 5.56 lakh hectares as of late September 2025, marking a decrease from the normal area of about 6.60 lakh hectares and also lower than the previous year's sown area. This fall in acreage came despite the government fixing the minimum support price (MSP) of raw jute (TD-3 grade) at Rs 5,650 per quintal for the 2025-26 season. The tightening of supply forced the government to increasingly dilute jute bag usage in foodgrain ...

Jute industry eyes ECJ meet on June 3 amid tight supply, high prices

The ECJ will assess the 2024-25 jute supply-demand scenario and review prospects for the 2025-26 crop amid rising prices, hoarding, and delayed arrivals

Giriraj Singh aims to raise jute bag prices to Rs 2 lakh per tonne

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

Jute sector highlights key issues at standing advisory committee meeting

The Indian Jute Mills Association highlighted several pressing issues at the 32nd Standing Advisory Committee (SAC) meeting in New Delhi, including the challenges faced by the sector due to declining demand for jute bags, officials said. Key stakeholders such as representatives from the sugar and plastic industry bodies participated in the meeting on Tuesday. The SAC makes recommendations to the Union government on the mandatory use of jute packaging materials, and packaging norms for essential commodities such as foodgrains and sugar. The Jute Commissioner's Office (JCO) stressed upon the need for supporting the sector, the IJMA officials said. An estimated 40 million farmers and 3.5 lakh jute mill workers are dependent on the industry. The representatives of sugar industry bodies raised concerns about the pricing and quality of jute bags, urging the government to fix rates for sugar jute bags. "They also noted the reluctance by major buyers like some beverage giants to use jute

IJMA expresses concern over violent assaults on management personnel in WB

The Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA) has written to West Bengal Labour Minister Moloy Ghatak, expressing grave concern over incidents of "violent assault on management personnel and unlawful strikes" at member mills. In the recent letter, IJMA highlighted the issue of worker indiscipline and "attempts by the management to ensure discipline and enhance productivity being repeatedly opposed by a section of workers with the help of trade union representatives". The letter said there was a violent assault on management personnel and unlawful strikes at Alliance Mills (Lessees) Ltd recently. The association stated that these incidents have "created an atmosphere of panic and uncertainty amongst the managerial and supervisory personnel of the mills," leading to a reluctance among them to attend to their duties. This has resulted in a significant decline in production and productivity in the affected jute mills. IJMA also raised concerns over incidents of vandalism that have endanger

Jute industry revenue to drop 5-6% on weak overseas demand: Report

Domestic demand will be stable because of steady orders for bags used to store grain, says CRISIL Ratings

India extends anti-dumping duty on jute imports from Nepal, Bangladesh

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

Indian jute making its way - from US markets to Italy wine producers

The Indian jute industry has faced a worker shortage as educational levels rise in Bihar, UP, and Odisha, poor states where jute factories have drawn most of their labour

A shimmer of hope for the golden fibre as demand for shopping bags rises

A robust export market for shopping bags has emerged, but whether it can help the ailing jute industry reduce its dependence on heavily regulated government purchases is an open question

Bengal govt holds meeting on jute crisis; 2 more mills shut operations

As jute mills continue to down shutters in West Bengal owing to unavailability of raw materials at the price fixed by the government, the Jute Commissioner came under fire at a meeting

Jute industry struggles to meet packaging demand amid Covid crisis

Around 4.8 lakh bales of jute bags worth Rs 1,500 crore could not be supplied and were replaced by plastic in November and December 2021

Jute industry suffers Rs 1,500cr loss amid raw material crisis: Sources

The jute sector has suffered a notional loss of Rs 1,500 crore due to dilution of 4.81 lakh bales of hessian bag orders in favour of plastic materials for foodgrain packaging during the ongoing season

West Bengal govt wants price cap on raw jute or bags, says official

The state government has also decided to carry out operations to stop hoarding of raw jute

Telangana attracts Rs 887 crore investment in jute sector to set up mills

Three companies have come forward to set up jute mills in Telangana with a cumulative investment of Rs 887 crore

Cheviot Co zooms 20% as firm announces special dividend of Rs 175 per share

The company has fixed July 16, 2021, as the record date fixed for the purpose of dividend

Promise to purchase produce from farmers must be kept

JCI alleged that the complaint had been filed merely to avoid repayment of the loan taken against the value of the jute.

Balers to suspend raw jute supply from November 23 to protest govt

Raw jute suppliers have decided to suspend trading activities of the commodity for an indefinite period from November 23 to protest against the Centre's decision to reduce the maximum stock limit

Jute mill workers stage protests over non-payment of dues during lockdown

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

Factory workers cope with contagion risk and poor demand

According to Rahul Mehta, president of the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), the business has been impacted drastically

Bengal jute industry hit by fund crunch as banks set stringent credit norms

At present, three major jute mills remained closed due to working capital crunch, industry sources said