JUTE INDUSTRY

Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................................1 Properties of Jute :......................................................................................................................................2 Strengths of Jute Industry:.........................................................................................................................4 Weakness of Jute Industry:.........................................................................................................................4 Opportunity:...............................................................................................................................................5 Threats:.......................................................................................................................................................5 Statistical Data:..........................................................................................................................................6 Government Initiative:...............................................................................................................................7 GLOBAL OUTLOOK:..............................................................................................................................7 PROSPECT OF JUTE GEOTEXTILES:...................................................................................................7 CONCLUSION:.........................................................................................................................................8

Introduction:
Jute is a natural fibre with golden and silky shine and hence called The Golden Fibre. When George Auckland an Englishman, set up the first jute spinning mill on banks of river Hooghly, West Bengal in 1855, little did he realise that he had planed the first seeds of a giant Indian industry. Since then, Indian jute has come a long way. The Indian jute industry has been expanding really fast spanning from a wide range of life style consumer products with courtesy to the versatility of Jute.

Properties of Jute :
High tensile strength and low extensability.

Biodegradable feature.
Low thermal conductivity. Ability to blend with both synthetic and natural fibres Insulation against sound. Unbreakable and Durable.

The process of conversion of raw jute into fibre is explained underneath.

Strengths of Indian Jute Industry:

The largest producer of raw jute in the world. The biggest manufacturer of jute goods in the world Labour Intensive industry which engages more than 4.35 million people. Stable and established domestic market encouraging innovations, research and development, establishment of packaging standards. A highly diversified production base manufacturing the widest range of products. Quality conscious--employing most modern facilities for TQC.

Enjoys the support of fully developed infrastructure like ports, shipping facilities
etc. Jute cleans the air. Studies indicate that, one hectare of jute plants can consume up to 15 tons of carbon dioxide and release 11 tons of oxygen during the jute growing season (about 100 days) (Natural Environment, 2008)

Weakness of Indian Jute Industry:

Multi unionism is one of the major problems faced by jute industry and engages major concentration of routine management in resolving labour dispute. Another weakness of jute industry is poor Research & Development (R&D) initiation, invention/reverse engineering effort has been grossly neglected in this sector. The reasons for this are lack of farsightedness & forward planning on the part of government and industry Marketing has been another weak point of jute industry. Indian jute has not been able to build brand image for jute that goes with the quality.

Opportunity:
With the pressure from green movement, it is going to sustain through consumer's preference. Traditionally India's core competence is in garment sector, however increasing competition necessitates her to explore new arena and develop her competence there. Jute industry in this regard presents a vast scope. Jute exists in nature as weeds. It also leads in diversified value added products. Fabrics constructed with jute-cotton blended yarns are best suited for clothing used for winter wears, provided necessary chemical treatments are given to modify their chemical properties

Threats:
One of the major threats faced by Indian jute industry/producers is from Bangladesh Jute industry Unionism in the industry The jute industry in West Bengal has witnessed a two-month long workers strike which in 2009,. followed by the strikes in 2007 and 2008. The strike was due to the fall out of the 2002 wage settlement terms between the workers and the mill owners. Competition from the synthetic industry.The direct cost of a 50 kg capacity Food Grade Jute Bag today is about Rs. 18 to 20 vis--vis Rs. 14 or Rs. 15 for a synthetic bag. Steep increase in the Wage Cost resulting from tripartite Settlement without any linkage to productivity. Threat of dilution in the Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory use for Packaging Commodities) Act, 1987

Jute Fibre

Statistical Data:
1.Average land area under jute cultivation
2.Average Yield 3.a) Average production of Jute bales) b) Carry over (opening stock) 836000 Ha 1.95 ton/Ha 1.63 m ton(90 lakh

0.38 m ton 4-4.5 million. 103 lakh

4.Number of farm families 5.Average internal consumption of jute bales. 7.Number of Jute Mills 8.Number of workers employed in Jute Mills (Approx) 9. Average production of jute goods 10. Average internal consumption of jute goods 11. Average export of jute goods 12. Average export value of jute goods. million. Note: 1 bale=180 Kg 1 metric tonne=1000 Kg. 78

370000 1705000 MT 1489000 MT 202000 MT US $ 246

The above statistics itself speak about the contribution of jute industry to the Indian economy. The jute industry annually supplies around 6.65 lakh tonnes of jute bags for packing around 230 million tonnes of food grains and 2.16 lakh tonnes of sugar twills. The jute industry's annual business turnover is around Rs 9000 crore including around Rs 1200 crore of exports.

Government Initiative:
The Government has been providing protection to the jute industry in the form of Jute Packaging Materials( Compulsory Use in Packaging Commodities)Act, 1987 . This Act provides for compulsory use of jute packaging materials and of persons engaged in the production thereof and for mattes connected therewith. Presently, only food grains and sugar need to be compulsory packed in Jute Bags. The Cabinet has restored 100 per cent reservation in the mandatory Jute Packaging Materials Act (JPMA) for 2010-11 for packaging food grain and sugar. Under the Jute Technology Mission, Government has a scheme for establishing Jute Parks. 9 Jute Parks have been sanctioned. Export benefits in the form of Duty Drawback.

Global Outlook:
India , China and Bangladesh are the three major producers in the cultivation or production of jute fiber. Bangladesh is currently the second largest producer of jute fiber now over taken by India. China is the third largest in terms of jute cultivation. Due to China's huge population, the Chinese are not emphasizing the cultivation of jute, as it competes with other necessary crops. Due to modern effective agriculture, they have the highest yield of jute fiber in the world.

Prospects of Jute Geotextiles:

The jute sector has to develop new product/market combination as part of a strategy to retain or expand its overall market. Jute -geo textiles have been identified as an opportunity for the development and introduction of a technically and finanically competitive product,Jute diversified product (like jute geotextiles) have the potential to secure a large share of the global geo-textiles market, especially in the sector of soil erosion control and strengthening of rural roads.

Jute Geotextiles have been gaining steady acceptability in the last few years. JGT can be effectively used to tackle erosion-related problems as in embankments, slopes , riverbanks. In West Bengal , State Department has identified 5 projects in the Sunderbans and one in the district of Malda for erosion control with JGT.

Opportunity for Banks:

Under Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme ,Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, will disburse to the three Nodal Agencies (NA), viz. IDBI, IFCI, SIDBI, who in turn will disburse to the primary lending institutions (PLIs) i.e. banks/FIs who have financed eligible projects. The machinery used in jute industry is old and obsolete with age of machinery ranging between 40 - 150 years. They have lost their capacity to produce quality products and in spite of routine maintenance, fail to yield standard machine production. In fact, the 150 years old industry with 75% obsolete machinery is tagged as "Sunset industry" with "Vintage machinery". Though National Jute Policy, 2005, aims at revamping the domestic jute industry through modernisation & by upgrading technology, only a few mills could utilise the fund provided by Jute Manufacturers and Development Council (JMDC) for modernising their plant and machinery plant partly. Thus JMDC had to return major part of the fund, ie, Rs 80 crores after using less than Rs 10 crores. The Government has earmarked Rs 75 lakhs per year per mill for capital investment in modernisation but industry feels it is inadequate for an average mill and wants it to be raised to Rs 2 crores. Therefore , banks can offer term loan and working capital facilities to revamp the industry to rise to the pinnacles of its glorious past.

Conclusion:
The Indian jute industry is having lots of opportunity by its side; It is not only one of the oldest industries of India but also among the major employer of the nation. There are a lot of strengths and also much opportunity to grab them but it could only be done if it overcomes its weaknesses and threats. Jute, the golden fibre, has a potential of reaching the height where it used to be in the past, but it is only possible through constant efforts by government and a proper follow-up by the industry. After all, converting your threats into your opportunities is the success mantra for the millennium.

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