Kolkata: Jute Corporation of India (JCI) has started minimum support price (MSP) operations for raw jute from Monday, a senior official said.
The government has increased the MSP of raw jute by Rs 285 to Rs 5,335 per quintal for the 2024-25 season.
In the current season (2023-24), the government has procured a record quantity of more than 7.24 lakh bales of raw jute at a cost of more than Rs 500 crore, and this has benefited about 1.70 lakh farmers.
This is a significant increase compared to 2.3 lakh bales procured in 2022-23.
Despite lower production estimates by the Expert Committee on Jute (ECJ), the price of the golden fiber has fallen below Rs 5,000 per quintal. In contrast, due to very low demand for raw material by jute mills, the MSP for the 2024-25 season is Rs 5,335 per quintal.
This significant fall in prices is mainly due to lower orders for GBT (Gunny Burlap Textile) bags by Food Corporation of India (FCI) and State Procurement Agencies (SPAs). Sources said that there is a huge amount of old stock lying with the mills.
According to JCI General Manager K Majumdar, there is no restriction on the quantity of procurement by the agency.
He said 110 direct JCI procurement centers are operational, and an additional 25 outsourced centers are active.
JCI's MSP procurement is directly from farmers, which protects them from distress sales.
Majumdar also mentioned that stakeholders and farmers can use the “Patsan App” to access MSP operational details including support in various areas like production.
The government has increased the MSP of raw jute by Rs 285 to Rs 5,335 per quintal for the 2024-25 season.
In the current season (2023-24), the government has procured a record quantity of more than 7.24 lakh bales of raw jute at a cost of more than Rs 500 crore, and this has benefited about 1.70 lakh farmers.
This is a significant increase compared to 2.3 lakh bales procured in 2022-23.
Despite lower production estimates by the Expert Committee on Jute (ECJ), the price of the golden fiber has fallen below Rs 5,000 per quintal. In contrast, due to very low demand for raw material by jute mills, the MSP for the 2024-25 season is Rs 5,335 per quintal.
This significant fall in prices is mainly due to lower orders for GBT (Gunny Burlap Textile) bags by Food Corporation of India (FCI) and State Procurement Agencies (SPAs). Sources said that there is a huge amount of old stock lying with the mills.
According to JCI General Manager K Majumdar, there is no restriction on the quantity of procurement by the agency.
He said 110 direct JCI procurement centers are operational, and an additional 25 outsourced centers are active.
JCI's MSP procurement is directly from farmers, which protects them from distress sales.
Majumdar also mentioned that stakeholders and farmers can use the “Patsan App” to access MSP operational details including support in various areas like production.
