The Hindu : Jute industry wants promotional measures

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 03, 2003

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Jute industry wants promotional measures

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD MAY 2. The recently formed Jute Manufacturers & Export Council (JMEC) wants the Union Government to initiate measures to promote and support the age-old jute industry and enable it to compete in the global market with countries like Bangladesh.

It has broadly categorised measures such as technology development in the jute sector, Government help to farmers to grow better quality of jute (to yield fine raw material comparable to Bangladesh), financial support like concessional interest bearing loans to the sector, setting up a Jute Bank in Delhi, a fund for creating awareness and popularising jute products, strict implementation of ban on use of plastic bags, and for State governments to make use of jute carry bags mandatory.

This was stated at a press conference here on Friday by B. V. Rama Rao, Chairman of the Council, R. K. Tandon, General Secretary (and Delhi based manufacturer/exporter), Madan Kaul, Vice Chairman (from Kashmir), and S. R. Das Gupta, Managing Director of Lagaan Jute Manufacturing Company Limited, Kolkata, which is the only jute machine manufacturer in the country.

Production figures from 1996-97 to 2001 show stagnation or fall in manufacture of hessain cloth, in carpet backing cloth, and jute diversified products (JDP), with only `sacking' showing about 40 per cent growth. Overall production, however, increased from 1.4 million tonnes in 1997 to 1.62 million tonnes in 2001.

India has about 76 composite units and 1,151 JDP units. Of these 567 JDPs are located in West Bengal, 153 in Uttar Pradesh, 122 in Andhra Pradesh and 74 in Tamil Nadu. The major export destination is the U.S., followed by the U.K., Germany, Italy and Belgium. Main competition to India comes from Bngladesh, Thailand, and China. Given this scenario, the potential for employment generation, and the fact that jute is a biodegradable and eco-friendly material, the JMEC feels the need for such urgent measures, they said.

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