IJMA urges jute commissioner to ban use of purchased yarn for sack bags meant for government supply

Jute mills have asked the jute commissioner to issue an advisory prohibiting the use of purchased jute yarn for the manufacture of B Twill bags (used for foodgrain packaging) meant to be supplied on government account against production control orders (PCSOs).

The request was made by the Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA) chairman Raghavendra Gupta in a recent letter to the regulator following weak order flow for the mills.

The IJMA argued that factories involved in the conversion of ''intermediate'' jute goods such as ''yarn'' into jute bags should not qualify as jute mills.

The definition of a jute mill in the Jute and Jute Textiles Control Order, 2016 states that a manufacturer must be mandatorily involved in the conversion of ''raw jute'' into jute textiles by mechanical process or electrical process or both processes.

There is bumper production of jute in Bangladesh this season and amid anti-dumping duties on several mills and traders of the neighbouring country, yarn from Bangladesh is illegally making its way to mills to produce jute bags meant for government supply, an IJMA official told PTI.

This hurts Indian farmers and mills simultaneously, he said.

The Jute Mills Association (IJMA) has said that the jute commissioner can only direct jute mills to produce jute textiles of certain specifications and quantity to be supplied to the government under the Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory Use in Packing Commodities) Act, 1987.

Industry sources said the price of raw jute in up-country markets is currently Rs 500 to Rs 600 below the minimum support price (MSP) set by the government. ''This is due to a bumper crop and a muted government demand outlook. This could lead to a decrease in jute cultivation next year, as farmers are discouraged by the low prices,'' they said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)