Jute industry in dire straits in West Bengal: IJMA

IJMA said the jute industry in the state is passing through one of its most disturbing phases. Seven jute mills have already closed down and almost 1,00,000 industrial workers have become jobless. Production and shift cuts have started in all of the State’s 56 operating mills.

It said West Bengal Chief Minister  Mamata Banerjee had been informed of the unhealthy developments in the jute sector. The Chief Minister had announced that a separate Jute Policy would be framed for the State. Until now, the industry is yet to receive any feedback although it had submitted its suggestions before the State Government, said IJMA.

For the past three months the Union Government too had failed in providing indents for supply of jute bags to West Bengal’s jute mills as the State Governments are in possession of a huge stock of PP/HDPE bags.

West Bengal’s jute industry possesses the full capacity (45 lakh bales or 15 lakh tons) to supply the entire quantity of jute bags necessary to pack all the food grains and sugar produced in the country. However, since 2012, the Government is relaxing the mandatory regulation.

IJMA highlighted that there is an all round effort to suppress the use of jute bags and promote use of low cost plastic bags.

Union Textile and Food Ministries have been made aware of the developments. IJMA found sugar mills to be the biggest violators of the Jute Protection Act, (JPMA). Since 2011, the union government or the Textile Ministry has not taken any action against any sugar mill although the Law Ministry had advised criminal and police action against them.

Since 2007, there is no incentive for export by the jute industry. The Government has also scrapped the Jute Technology Mission from 1st April 2013 abruptly after about six years. Meanwhile, jute good imports from Bangladesh have considerably gone up since 2009-10.

The Jute Manufacturers’ Association requested the State Government and the Central Government to issue proper order for the ensuing Kharif and Rabi seasons to keep the State’s jute mills running and avoid mass closure.