• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

Jute crop estimates put at 94 l bales

Our Bureau

KOLKATA, Jan. 4

JUTE crop estimates for 2000-2001 (July-June) has been lowered by one lakh bale to 94 lakh bales in view of flood losses -- mainly in three districts of West Bengal.

At a recent meeting of the Jute Advisory Board, Dr D. Gupta, Jute Commissioner, said it was also estimated that four lakh bales might suffer grade losses. Supply of raw jute was comfortable and prices remained within reasonable limits.

Meanwhile, the Jute Commissioners' Office had placed orders for 2.5 lakh bales of jute sackings with the mills till December 2000. However, supplies from mills were lagging behind at 1.8 lakh bales. The Director General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) is slated to buy 6-6.5 lakh tonnes of sackings till March-end.

At the meeting, the Jute Bailers' Association put the flood-caused damage/grade deterioration in jute crop at two lakh bales while the Jute Corporation of India placed the crop loss/deterioration at two per cent.

According to the minutes of the meeting, the Jute Commissioner expressed doubt about the authenticity of method adopted by the Directorate of Jute Development (under the Union Ministry of Agriculture) for assessing the crop size, ``which is always ... un usually on the higher side''.

The directorate admitted that it did not have any machinery to estimate jute crop size and it relied on the Directorate of Economics and Statistics (also under the Agriculture Ministry).

The supply and distribution position of raw jute for 2000-2001 as estimated by the board is: opening stock - 10.5 lakh bales, crop - 94 lakh bales, import - six lakh bales, consumption by mills - 90 lakh bales, rural and other industrial consumption - 7. 5 lakh bales, exports: nil and closing stock - 13.5 lakh bales.