According to Textile Ministry, Jute Commissioner plans to meet with all stakeholders, including industry representatives and officials from the Jute Corporation of India and the West Bengal government, to discuss the contentious issue of fixing jute prices in accordance with the Calcutta High Court's orders.
"The Jute Commissioner must consider jute freight, transportation, handling, and storage charges when deciding whether to re-fix prices. Stakeholders must be consulted before any decision is made on the matter," an official following the case said.
On May 11, the Court directed the Jute Commissioner, who works under the Textile Ministry and is in charge of regulating the jute sector, to take steps to ensure that mills can obtain raw material at the notified rate of Rs 6,500 per quintal, but to review the price if it cannot be met.
The Indian Jute Mills Association had petitioned the Calcutta High Court against the Jute Commissioner's decision to set the raw jute ceiling rate at Rs 6,500 per quintal in September 2021. Its main argument has been that the ceiling rate was too low and that a similar grade of jute was available in the market for more than 7,000 per quintal.
According to industry sources, a lower ceiling price for raw jute on paper harms millers who produce jute bags because the government considers the raw jute price when calculating jute bag prices that it buys from mills, even though millers pay much more for it.
As a result, some mills in the state ceased operations, and jute bag production plummeted. "Until now, no farmer or farmer body has lodged a single protest/objection on account of raw jute price fixation," the official pointed out.
Taking note of the situation, the Calcutta High Court directed the Jute Commissioner to take immediate action and implement stringent measures to implement the notified rate. However, if it appears that the notified rate cannot be met, the Jute Commissioner has been asked to review and re-fix the rate taking into account all relevant factors.
It also observed that, given the abundant crop, the price of raw jute should have dropped, but it did not, indicating that something was wrong somewhere. West Bengal is expected to produce approximately 85-90 lakh bales of raw jute in 2021-22, up from 55-58 lakh bales in 2020-21.
"Because the Jute Commissioner has been directed by the High Court to collect first-hand information on the rate at which jute is available to mill owners and also take into consideration freight, transportation, handling, and storage charges before making a decision on the need to re-fix price ceilings," the source said.
