March 29, 2024

Diabetestracker

Passion For Business

Notwithstanding higher production, jute prices rule firm

The fifty five per cent soar in output notwithstanding, uncooked jute price ranges are ruling agency due to lessen availability as farmers are holding on to their stock in anticipation of greater price ranges. The minimal carryover stock from past year is also pushing up price ranges.

Costs of uncooked jute in West Bengal is hovering close to ₹7,000-seven,two hundred a quintal, as versus the typical normal of close to ₹4,500-four,750 a quintal throughout the starting of the crop period.

Uncooked jute output in the Condition is estimated to be close to eighty five-90 lakh bales in 2021-22, as versus fifty five-fifty eight lakh bales in 2020-21. The increased output is on the back of favourable weather conditions conditions and maximize in sowing space due to the very remunerative price ranges the golden fibre fetched past year.

According to Raghav Gupta, Chairman, Indian Jute Mills’ Affiliation (IJMA), uncooked jute price ranges were being very risky past year due to the lessen crop. Costs experienced touched as significant as ₹9,000 a quintal in the direction of the conclusion of the past crop period (that is in June this year). On the other hand, when the new crop started arriving, price ranges began to fall and touched close to ₹5,500 a quintal.

“Farmers were being unwilling to promote at these price ranges and so were being holding on to the deliver. This pushed up price ranges,” Gupta advised BusinessLine.

Larger jute acreage

Jute cultivation in the country is mostly concentrated in a few states like West Bengal, Bihar and Assam. Bengal accounts for just about eighty per cent of jute acreage and eighty three per cent of output, adopted by Assam with a output share of close to 8 per cent and then Bihar.

The sowing acreage in West Bengal, which experienced dropped to 6.5 lakh hectare in 2020-21, is estimated to have increased to close to seven.5 lakh hectare throughout this period.

It is to be noted that poor weather conditions conditions and the migration of jute farmers to other crops such as maize dragged down uncooked jute output to fifty five lakh bales in 2020-21, as versus an normal output of close to 65-70 lakh bales.

While the cyclone Amphan in May perhaps 2020 and the subsequent rains ruined the crop in Bengal. Severe rain in 21 districts of Assam in July-August past year experienced also impacted output of uncooked jute in the northeastern region.

In contrast to this, jute output this year has been increased due to favourable weather conditions conditions and increased cultivation, field insiders reported.

Costs were being predicted to stabilise close to ₹5,500 a quintal on the back of a increased output this year. On the other hand, that did not take place as farmers have been holding onto their stock.

It is to be noted that the Fee for Agricultural Expenditures & Costs (CACP) in its “Price Policy for Jute: 2021-22 season” has suggested a MSP of uncooked jute (TDN3, equivalent of TD5) for the period 2021-22 to be fixed at ₹4,500 a quintal. This is an maximize of 6.5 per cent about MSP of ₹4,225 a quintal for the past period.

Cost ceiling

The jute regulator Jute Commissioner’s place of work has imposed a price ceiling of ₹6,500 a quintal on uncooked jute trade in buy to guarantee source of uncooked material to the mills at a reasonable price.

The Indian Jute Mills Affiliation (IJMA), which feels that the price ceiling is most likely to be counterproductive for jute cultivation, has sought the intervention of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to choose up the make any difference with the Centre to assessment its final decision.

“The jute farmer will be dis-incentivised to cultivate uncooked jute up coming year with these restrictions in spot. The West Bengal jute farmers will be worse off than their counterparts in Bangladesh. Indirectly this will end result in expansion of the Bangladesh field at the price of India,” IJMA reported in the letter to the Chief Minister.