Jute Industry - Jute Mills in India

Jute is otherwise known as the 'Golden Fiber' -a plant that produces fibre, mainly used for sacking and cordage. This raw material is used for sacks globally and is the most versatile fibre of nature. Different forms of handicrafts also use this fibre. Jute is cheap and important among all textile fibres, after cotton.

Potential of Jute industry

The jute industry has been expanding fast, spanning from a wide range of lifestyle consumer products, with all courtesy to the versatility of Jute. Innovative ways of bleaching, dyeing and finishing processes - the jute industry now provides finished jute products that are softer, have a lustre and also an aesthetic appeal.

Changing scenario of Jute industry

At present, jute has been defined as an eco-friendly natural fibre with utmost versatility ranging from low-value geo-textiles to high-value carpet, apparel, composites, decoratives, upholstery furnishings etc.

In future, several jute mills and mini-jute plants have been seen to be engaged in jute products and jute blended yarns. We all know that the uses of jute are manifold, with the traditional usage pattern remaining constricted to packing, hessian and carpet backing.

The jute sector in India engages a key role in the Indian economy, providing direct employment to about 0.26 million workers, and supporting the lives of around 4.0 million farm families. Around 0.14 million people are believed to be engaged in the tertiary sector that supports the jute industry. Currently, it also contributes to exports to the tune of about ` 1000 crore.

Jute Production in India

Import of Raw Jute in 2008-09 has dropped by 66% in quantity and by 55% in value terms, whereas import of jute products saw a surge by 23% in quantity and by 47% in value terms when compared with the figures of 2007-08. The EXIM Policy states that the import of raw jute and jute products in India should be considered as free items without duty.

India produced around 102 lakh bales of jute in 2011-12 Crop year (July -June). However, the country may observe a decline by 12% to 90 lakh bales in the 2012-13 crop year, caused by the poor rains in the growing states as per an August 2012 release of the National Jute Board.

Import of jute and jute products in last 3 years

Period	2008 - 2009		2007 - 2008		2006 - 2007
	Value	Qty.	Value	Qty.	Value	Qty.
Raw Jute	59,042	8900.31	1,71,800	19,672.39	94,363	15,031.15
Jute Products	70,935	20,299.48	57,688	13,809.41	60,932	17162.87

State-wise Jute production in the last 3 years
Period: July-June / Area: '000 Hectares / Qty: '000 Bales

	2006-07		2007-08		2008-09 (Estimated)
State	Area	Production	Area	Production	Area	Production
West Bengal	595	8411	610	8216	584	7900
Bihar	127	1253	131	1251	147	1402
Jharkhand	-	-	-	-	-	-
Assam	58	559	60	657	61	674
Orissa	5	48	6	50	11	104
Uttar Pradesh	-	-	-	-	-0.1	1
Tripura	1	4	-0.5	4	1	8
Meghalaya	4	35	4	35	6	50
Nagaland	2	6	3	6	2	21
Others	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	792	10316	814	10219	812	10160

State Wise Production of Raw Jute: (Top 10 in the year 2017-2018)

State	Area (In '000 hectares)	Production (In '000 Bales)
West Bengal	525.44	7637.85
Bihar	104.2	1280.02
Assam	73.36	861.46
Meghalaya	11.14	94.82
Madhya Pradesh	8	11
Odisha	7.21	44.24
Andhra Pradesh	5	47.22
Nagaland	4.98	44.28
Tripura	1.09	9.96
Chhattisgarh	1.08	2.08

Domestic Consumption of Jute Goods:

Year	Hessian  (In 000' M.T.)	Sacking (In 000' M.T.)	Others (In 000' M.T.)
2008-09	249.8	1043	142.5
2009-10	182.6	879.8	141.9
2010-11	182.3	1034.4	133.4
2011-12	184.2	1079.7	117.1
2012-13	165.8	1118.7	113.9
2013-14	157.6	1043.1	126.4
2014-15	171.7	873.2	111.4
2015-16	164.2	890.2	90.2
2016-17	140.9	855.9	78.9
2017-18	141.9	894.2	76.5
2018-19	130.5	900	82.7
2019-20	113.8	907.9	95

Last Updated on August 10, 2021