National Jute Board : Developing and promoting of jute and jute products

An interview with Shashi Bhushan Singh | Secretary & CEO | National Jute Board

What is your assessment on the current situation of Jute industry in India?

Reply: Jute Industry is one of the major industries in the eastern region particularly in West Bengal and occupies prime position in Indian economy. Being a sustainable income source for about 4 million farm families in jute agriculture, Jute industry provides direct employment to 4 lakh workers in both organized and diversified sector. Besides, more than 3 lakh people are engaged in tertiary and allied sector.

There are 114Jute Mills in 8 States of the country. Besides, there are more than 2000 MSMEs engaged in production of Jute Diversification Products. The Product Profile  of Jute Industry  is not only traditional packaging items viz. Hessian , Sacking Cloths / Bags but also  specialties including viz. Food Grade Jute Cloth/ Bag , Jute geotextiles and Jute lifestyle consumers products viz. Floor coverings , Hand & Shopping bags , Wall hangings , Gift articles , Decorative fabrics etc. The industry produces annually more than 12 lakh M. Tons of jute goods valued at Rs 18,000 crore. In export front, the performance of jute industry is encouraging with increased share of jute diversified products to the extent of 45% in value of export basket of jute goods.

India continued to be the major producer and consumer of jute goods in the world. The Mandatory Packaging Norms of Govt. of India provides 100% reservation of food grains and 20% of sugar to be compulsorily packaged in Jute bags. Besides, Government of India’s   National Jute Development Programme (NJDP) – an umbrella scheme for overall development and promotion of jute sector is under implementation by National Jute Board encompassing various segments of jute sector   starting from agriculture to finished products and market promotion of jute products.

How do you view the Indian Jute industry’s significant progress since independence?

Reply: Jute has been an integral part of the economic, social and cultural fabric of eastern India since time immemorial. After establishment of the 1^st Jute Mill in Calcutta in 1855, there has been a rapid growth of jute industry in India. While  total area under jute cultivation varies between 6.00 lakh hectares to 10 lakh hectares , jute crop production between 33 lakh bale and 110 lakh bale during post- independence period. Production of jute goods was maximum (16.25 lakh M. Ton) during 2000-01. The mainstay of jute industry has had been Hessian and Sacking for packaging purpose. Jute basically being a packaging material has been facing stiff competition from cheaper synthetic and other alternative packaging materials. There is continuous challenge from competing products; as a result, the classical jute packaging products are facing the decline phase of product life cycle. Jute industry has realized the situation and the importance of Jute Diversification. In the product profile of the industry, many more diversified products have been included following new innovative R&D technologies in conformity with consumers’ need. Food grade jute cloth and bags for packaging cocoa beans, coffee beans and shelled nuts with Rice Bran Oil (II) technology are being produced by large Jute Mills. Further, Jute Geo-textiles – an eco-friendly textile for solving several Geo technical problems in road construction, soil consolidation are being produced in large volume for wide application.

With keener acceptance of jute eco-friendly products by the International buyers, jute floor coverings including mats & mattings / durries & rugs etc. jute shopping carry bags as major components, display persistent increasing growth in demand in international markets.  In this direction, both Jute Mills and MSME – JDP exporters are active players in jute diversification to establish a sound supply chain.

Where does Indian Jute industry stand compared to the international jute industry?

Reply: In World production of Jute, Bangladesh, India, China, Nepal are the producing countries. India is the major producer of jute and ranks first in world followed by Bangladesh. While India’s annual production of raw jute , on last 5 year  average is  97 lakh bales , that of  Bangladesh’s  87 lakh bales.India’s domestic consumption is also to the extent of 95 percent of jute goods production. On the other hand, Bangladesh exports 90 percent of its production and ranks first in world exports of jute. However, jute fibre has found diverse applications in production of high value jute products which have been developed only in India catering to the needs not only of the domestic but also international markets. Such value added products are being increasingly exported because of the changing tastes and preferences for environment friendly products.

With what objective was “National Jute Board “setup?                   

Reply: World over, it has been recognized that Jute – the natural textile fibre occupy a unique position as eco-friendly, biodegradable, renewable natural fibre with substantial value addition at each stage of processing. Therefore, the strategic thrust is to position jute as superior and environmental friendly materials vis-a-vis synthetics. The Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India, in formulating the National Jute Policy 2005, as a major policy prerogative, outlined the need for institutional re-structuring in the jute sector and establishment of a Jute Board for the purpose. Thus, National Jute Board has been established under National Jute Board Act, 2008 (12 of 2009) aiming at development of the jute cultivation, manufacture and marketing of jute and jute products.

What is the exact role of “NJB” in the Jute industry?

Reply: NJB is mandated to undertake various activities for overall development and promotion of jute sector.  The activities are relating to  mainly , jute agriculture to improve quality and productivity of raw jute cultivation , proliferation of  jute diversification  activities through training programmes, supply of jute raw materials , design inputs ,  support on acquisition of jute machineries and market promotion initiatives in both domestic  and international countries. Besides, NJB as part of workers’ welfare initiatives; provides scholarship to the girl children of the workers of Jute Mills and MSME JDP Units on passing out Secondary and Higher Secondary Examinations.

Which are the thrust areas for the Jute industry in India?

Reply: Industry has bitter experience in facing stiff competition from cheaper synthetic and other alternative packaging materials. The only way out to come out from this challenge is jute diversification which implies shift towards high value products. Lately, with excellent response of jute industry, National Jute Board, under National Jute Development Programme (NJDP) has been actively engaged in prioritization of Research agenda in exploring possibilities of jute in both textile and non-textile applications.  In this direction, the on-going R&D projects include among others, Denim quality specialized jute fabrics, Viscose fibre from jute dissolving grade pulps jute composite for automatic acoustic insulation, Nano–technological intervention on jute geotextiles for long term sustainability, Cost effective handmade carpets with jute and other natural fibres and so on.

Various Textile Research Associations viz. NITRA, ATIRA, NIT, NINFET, WRA have been assigned with the R&D Projects.

What are the challenges Indian Jute industry facing today?

Reply: Jute Industry has multiple constraints and challenges in various segments. To mention a few, in jute agriculture, there has been decline in area, non-availability of jute certified seeds, inefficient post – harvest and fibre extraction methodologies. The production units viz. Jute Mills & MSME – JDP Sector units with poor quality raw jute materials and obsolete machinery continue to involve in production process resulting in rising cost of production. Besides, there has been stiff competition from synthetic substitutes, non-woven in particular which force the Jute Mills to depend on Govt. procurements. Thus, Sacking has been the mainstay of Jute Industry constituting 85 % of total jute goods production.

What are the important steps taken by “NJB” to face the challenges?

Reply: Keeping in view the challenges, NJB in consonance with its mandates, implements series of promotional schemes / activities. In jute agriculture, for improvement in quality and productivity of raw jute cultivation with involvement of jute farmers providing certified jute seeds at subsidized rates, popularizing several newly developed retting technologies at the field level, Jute – ICARE has been implemented. Besides, under on- going NJDP, acquisition of innovative machines for manufacturing jute diversified products by Jute Mills & MSME- JDP Units is encouraged through incentives by NJB.   Other measures under NJDP include among others, providing trainings to jute artisans / WSHGs for manufacturing jute diversified products, supplying jute raw materials at mill gate price, facilitating participation of existing/ new entrepreneurs in various fairs and exhibitions in domestic & international countries for showcasing the jute diversified products for mass consumption and boosting exports of India.

What will be the future strategy of National Jute Board?

Reply: National Jute Board is a nodal agency for development and promotion of jute and jute products. The  future strategy for jute development and promotion may include among others, Jute quality & productivity improvement through extensive implementation of Jute – ICARE activities in Jute agriculture, Reduce dependence on Govt. procurement and enhance  Product Diversification by exploring possibilities of jute in both textile & non textile application , Sustainable employment  for  rural youths , WSHGs through jute diversification, Quality compliance,  Increasing usage and share of jute products in domestic & export markets through appropriate market promotion strategies.

What are you doing about the development of jute industry?

Reply: During 15^th Finance Commission period (2021-22 to 2025-26), the approved National Jute Development Programme (NJDP) – an umbrella scheme for development and promotion of Jute Sector is under implementation. NJB has been the nodal agency for implementation of the approved schemes / activities relating to Jute agriculture, Product / process development including diversification, Market development & Promotion including Jute Mark Logo for quality compliance, domestic / international promotional campaign and Workers welfare measures by providing scholarship to the Girl Children of the workers of Jute Mills / MSME- JDP Units.

How do you see the Jute industry in the year 2030?

Reply: As mentioned, our future strategy is for overall development of jute sector in various segments viz. raw jute quality / productivity improvement, Product diversification with sustained employment and skilled work force, jute technical textiles, quality compliance building brand image of jute as eco-friendly products.

What about recent initiatives of National Jute Board?

Reply: In consonance with the mandates, National Jute Board (NJB) has been continuously engaged in implementation of various schemes / initiatives for development and promotion of Jute Sector. The major initiatives are distribution of HYV Jute Certified seeds among the jute farmers, imparting training on jute diversified products for sustainable employment, supporting the Jute Mills /MSME- JDP Units for manufacturing and exporting of jute diversified products.

(Shilpa Bichitra | Special Edition | 2024)