Kolkata Apr 19 PTI Asserting that the jute industry is on the verge of collapse endangering the livelihood of three crore people engaged in this sector Trinamool Congress Chief Whip in the Rajya Sabha Sukhendu Sekhar Ray sought the intervention of the Centre to resolve the crisisFor this situation Ray blamed the Jute Commissioners Office which looks after orderly development and promotion of the industry in IndiaThe Rajya Sabha MP wrote separate letters to Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Textile Minister Piyush Goyal seeking their help to resolve the problemHe claimed that 60000 workers have lost their jobs following the closure of 15 jute mills owing to raw jute crisis allegedly due to government diktat on pricingFrom November 2021 the Jute Commissioners Office is engaged in an unhealthy battle with Bengals jute industry on the capping of raw jute price at Rs 6500 per quintal while the industry demand is Rs 7200 per quintal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has publicly opposed the cap imposed by the Jute Commissioner on 30 September 2021 but it has not been removed Ray said in the letters The state government had also requested the Commissioner to raise the ceiling to Rs 7200 a quintal he saidInstead of searching for a solution the Jute Commissioner for the past few months is engaged in a legal battle with the jute industry the TMC MP saidRay highlighted that the 2022-23 report of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices also painted a gloomy picture saying acreage of jute has been declining for the last three years and supply has been reduced by 11 per centThe stock to user ratio SUR has also fallen by 84 per cent and jute yield is stagnant for the last five years There is a 70 per cent shortage of credible jute seeds needed for robust cultivation he saidRay urged both the ministers to intervene and save cultivators workers and the jute industry as a whole in public interest PTI BSM NN NN

Kolkata Nov 29 PTI The Jute Commissioner has rejected the suggestion of the Indian Jute Mills Association IJMA for revising the fair price of raw jute to Rs 7200 per quintal and instead sought a price capping recommendation for finished jute sacking bags The jute mills lobby body had submitted their suggestion to the Jute Commissioner the regulator to revise the fair price of raw jute to Rs 7200 from Rs 6500 after an emergency meeting pursuant to a high level meeting in the state secretariat in presence of the West Bengal Chief Secretary As decided in the meeting convened by GoWB you are again requested to forward your proposal on maximum price cap in absolute terms in Rupees per 100 bags for consideration You may appreciate that fixation of maximum price is a regulatory function of the Jute Commissioner and once a maximum cap is imposed by publishing a gazette notification the same is binding and cannot contain any variable element in the cap price itself the Jute Commissioner said in a letter to IJMA It was unambiguously decided in the meeting that IJMA will forward the maximum price of jute bags which is proposed to be fixed in lieu of fixation of price of raw jute which is presently in force for consideration of the appropriate authority This was accepted by the representatives of IJMA who were present there the regulator said in its letter The Indian Jute Mills Association has refuted the claim of Jute Commissioner that mills representative had agreed to suggest only price cap of the finished jute sacking bag at the emergency meeting at the state secretariat last Friday IJMA chairman Raghav Gupta told PTI that IJMA had not agreed and sought time to discuss the matter with the larger committee members and get back in a days time which we did and sent our outcome as a proposal agreed among the larger members of the association The IJMA had suggested revising the fair raw jute price to Rs 7200 per quintal from Rs 6500 per quintal taking market realities into account IJMA had submitted their suggestion a day after a high level meeting at the Nabanna the state secretariat in presence of state Chief Secretary Responding to the proposal Jute Commissioner said It is apparent from the above that IJMA in its reply instead of forwarding the maximum cap price forwarded a complex proposal linking it again with price of raw jute and several other variables which was discussed but was not agreed to in the meeting itself and a consensus was reached that IJMA will forward its proposal on maximum price of jute bags on the next day itself The West Bengal government sought mills suggestions as it cannot allow unabated price rise of foodgrain jute sacking bags and the lobby body presented a method that allowed market driven price of raw jute with a ceiling as the Rs 6500 price cap has faltered creating a shortage in supply to mills The West Bengal government had also agreed to carry out massive dehoarding drive to unlock raw jute supply for the mills PTI BSM RG RG

Kolkata Nov 28 PTI The Indian Jute Mills Association IJMA has suggested to revise the fair raw jute price to Rs 7200 per quintal from Rs 6500 per quintal now fixed by the regulator Jute Commissioner The IJMA had submitted their suggestion after an emergency meeting pursuant to a high level meeting at the Nabanna the state secretariat in presence of state Chief Secretary The West Bengal government had sought their suggestions as it cannot allow unabated price rise of foodgrain jute sacking bags IJMA members understood the sentiments of the government that unabated rise in price of raw jute leading to consequent rise in price of jute bags cannot be permitted Hence IJMA would like to propose that the purpose of computation of B Twill prices maximum price of raw jute TDN3 ex-West Bengal Kolkata landed may be considered at Rs 7200 per quintal IJMA sources told PTI They said despite fair price fixed by Jute Commissioner at Rs 6500 but landed cost to mills is Rs 7000 as jute balers were adding Rs 500 as transportation cost and hence industry was deprived to get raw material at the announced fair price and urged the government to consider this in computation of the final sacking bag The mills body also pointed out that since market forces will be allowed to function freely in raw jute trade and at some point the prices may fall below the proposed maximum price of Rs 7200 per quintal the lower raw jute price shall be considered for B Twill price computation IJMA suggested this proposed arrangement should remain valid up to the end of the current jute year ie 30th June22 Several meetings had already taken place on the prevailing crisis and West Bengal had taken up with the Prime Ministers Office and Ministry of Textiles on IJMAs request for review of the price cap notification and also on the question of sustainability of such order Meanwhile there had been protests against the Jute Commissioners order on jute stock limit for various types of traders PTI BSM RG RG