The Hindu Business Line : Textile Ministry sets new norms for jute packaging

THE Union Ministry of Textiles has prepared a new set of regulations for the dilution of the mandatory packaging orders currently followed by the jute industry under the Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory Use in Packing Commodities) Act, 1987.

According to industry sources, the recommendations will be forwarded to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), which is scheduled to meet later the week. The Union Ministry of Textiles will issue the final orders if its proposals are accepted by the CCEA.

It is learnt that the Ministry of Textiles had suggested partial dilution of the mandatory orders for the two user industries - foodgrains and sugar. The domestic jute industry has strongly objected to this move.

According to the Union Ministry's suggestion, public sector organisations must continue to use jute for 100 per cent of their packing needs for foodgrains. For the private players, it is 80 per cent.

It is the same for the sugar industry. It is proposed that all the sugar for the public distribution system (PDS) should be packed in jute bags. For non-PDS sugar, it is 75 per cent. Currently, the jute industry follows 90 per cent mandatory packaging orders for sugar and 100 per cent for foodgrains. A case on this issue is being heard at the Supreme Court.

The jute industry has strongly objected to this proposal for partial dilution as they say it creates confusion among the producers and the consumers and is difficult to implement.

"We have experienced it earlier when mandatory orders were partially diluted for cement and fertiliser sectors from 100 per cent to 70 and 50 per cent respectively. As a result, there was not a single unit in either sector, which used jute bags. Moreover, this is the first time probably that a differentiation will be made between public and private bodies," industry sources said.

In the last three years, the jute industry produced 10 lakh tonnes of jute bags, of which eight lakh tonnes was consumed by the foodgrains and the rest by the sugar industry.

"Any dilution in the mandatory packaging orders will be a major blow to the jute industry. Moreover, in the sugar sector, of the total production only 15 per cent is levy and the rest is non-levy. So, the Union Government should not dilute the orders," a senior jute mill owner said.

Meanwhile, senior members of the Indian Jute Mills Association said the industry was wrongly represented in the ongoing controversy over the introduction of BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) norms for jute bags. It also said the new norms were pushed through without considering the views and problems of the industry.

"The new parameters are mostly applicable for the textile sector and not jute. Moreover, the user industries hardly complained against the jute bags. In the last ten years, complaints against jute were less than 0.5 per cent of the total production," an IJMA member said.

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