India's jute acreage dips 18%, production may slip further

30 Sep '24

3 min read

India's jute acreage dips 18%, production may slip further

Pic: Adobe Stock

Insights

Despite government efforts to promote jute as part of green initiatives, India's jute production is declining.
The cultivation area has decreased by 18.48 per cent for 2024-25, continuing a trend since 2022.
West Bengal, the largest producer, has seen its jute acreage fall significantly.
Increased MSP have failed to reverse the decline, with production dropping by 17.24 per cent over last decade

Although the Indian government is focusing on growing the jute industry as part of its green initiatives, jute production has still not increased. In fact, jute (including mesta) production is expected to drop significantly, with the area under cultivation decreasing by 18.48 per cent to 5.738 lakh hectares during the 2024-25 crop season. The acreage has been consistently falling since 2022. Jute and mesta production once again failed to reach the 100 lakh ton mark in the previous crop season of 2023-24, although it was higher than in 2022-23.

According to the latest crop sowing report released by the Ministry of Agriculture, the jute cultivation area dropped by 18.48 per cent to 5.738 lakh hectares from 6.671 lakh hectares in the previous season. This downward trend in acreage has persisted since 2022. The area under jute cultivation was recorded at 6.975 lakh hectares in 2022, 6.980 lakh hectares in 2021, and 6.935 lakh hectares in 2020.

West Bengal is the largest jute-producing state, contributing around 60 to 70 per cent of the country’s total jute production. However, the state's share of jute cultivation area has been continuously decreasing. It fell to 4.183 lakh hectares in 2024, which accounts for about 72 per cent of the total cultivation area. The peak was in 2020 when the area reached 5.135 lakh hectares, but it has since declined to 5.001 lakh hectares in 2021, 4.975 lakh hectares in 2022, and 4.906 lakh hectares in 2023. Assam and Bihar are the other two significant jute-producing states in India.

The government's increase in the minimum support price (MSP) has not been enough to encourage farmers to grow more jute in recent years. The MSP was raised to ₹5,335 (approximately $63.66) per quintal for the new marketing season of 2024-25, compared to ₹5,050 (approximately $60.26) per quintal in the previous season. Over the last five years, the government procurement price has risen by 26.27 per cent, from ₹4,225 (approximately $50.42) per quintal in 2020-21.

India’s jute production presents a rather negative outlook. Despite several government initiatives, production has declined by 17.24 per cent over the last decade. Instead of increasing, jute production has dropped from 116.90 lakh tons in 2013-14 to 96.92 lakh tons in 2023-24. However, this figure shows a slight improvement compared to the 93.92 lakh tons produced in 2022-23.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)

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