Bengal jute industry frets over import ban through land ports
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Kolkata: The ban imposed on the import of raw jute through land ports by the Union commerce ministry will cripple the sector in Bengal, leaders of the jute industry said on Saturday.
Around 90% of jute-related manufacturing occurs in Bengal.
The Indian Jute Manufacturers' Association (IJMA), the umbrella body representing the industry, plans to reach out to the ministry urgently, seeking a modification in the notification so that raw jute and yarn can continue to be imported through Petrapole in North 24 Parganas.
"India annually imports around Rs 2,000 crore of jute and jute products from Bangladesh.
Value addition is done in Bengal and finished jute products are then re-exported. The govt should ban the import of finished products from Bangladesh as the govt there provides a huge subsidy to the industry. But the ban on raw materials will hurt the industry here. Importing jute bales and yarns through the Nhava Sheva sea port in Navi Mumbai will increase the cost and drive away the relative price advantage that companies manufacturing jute products enjoy in this region," said Hemant Bangur, chairman of Gloster Ltd, one of the leading jute companies in India.
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Kartik Chakraborty, secretary of Customs Clearing Agent Association, Petrapole, said jute items comprised 60% of the trucks that crossed the border into India from Bangladesh.
"After the Bangladeshi garment import ban through land ports was announced on May 17, the number of trucks that entered India reduced from 150-200 a day to 70-80 daily. Now, with the ban on jute products, only 15-20 trucks will arrive. Around 50 trucks, loaded with jute-related items and were about to cross the border on Friday when the notification came, turned back on Saturday," Chakraborty recounted.
A ban has been imposed on imports of certain jute products and woven fabrics through all land routes, citing strained relations between the two countries. The goods under these curbs include jute products, flax tow and waste, jute and other bast fibres, jute, single flax yarn, single yarn of jute, multiple folded, woven fabrics or flex and unbleached woven fabrics of jute.
Ghanshyam Sarda, chairman of Sarda Group, which owns Agarpara Jute Mill, said the circular requires further clarification.
"While it states that the import of jute and other textile-based fabrics is restricted, it does not explicitly specify whether hessian and sacking bags fall within the scope of this restriction. It is a matter of serious concern that the import of hessian fabric and jute bags continues to remain unrestricted, whereas the import of raw jute from Bangladesh — an essential input for domestic manufacturing and vital to addressing the raw jute shortage in India — has been placed under restriction.
We are hopeful the Centre will revisit the matter and take appropriate corrective action in due course," he said.
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