The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Thursday approved ₹285/quintal hike in the minimum support price (MSP) for raw jute to ₹5,335/quintal for the 2024-25 season as against ₹5,050/quintal for the 2023-24.
New MSP
Announcing the decision after the Cabinet approval, textile minister Piyush Goyal said that the new MSP of raw jute (TDN-3 equivalent to earlier TD-5 grade) is 65 per cent more than its estimated cost of production. He said the decision will greatly benefit farmers in eastern states, especially in West Bengal.
In the current season 2023-24, the government has procured a record quantity of over 6.24 lakh bales (each bale weighs 180 kg) of raw jute at the cost of ₹524.32 crore, benefitting around 1.65 lakh farmers.
The MSP of raw jute for the 2024-25 season is in line with the principle of fixing the minimum support price at a level of at least 1.5 times all India’s weighted average cost of production as announced by the government in the Budget 2018-19, an official statement said. The decision is based on recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
The Jute Corporation of India (JCI) will continue as a central government nodal agency to undertake price support operations and the losses incurred, if any, in such operations, will be fully reimbursed by the central government.
Goyal also said that in the last 10 years, the government has increased MSP for Raw jute from ₹2,400 per quintal in 2014-15 to ₹5,335/quintal in 2024-25, registering a growth of 122 per cent.