Minimum support price on raw jute to remain in force till January 31

The central government has expanded the scope of a minimum support price applicable to raw jute by a month to January 31, 2024. The move comes roughly a month after the government fixed a minimum support price of Rs 5,050 per quintal for the golden fibre at the farm level and Rs 5,500 per quintal for deliveries in Kolkata amid bumper domestic production. 

The decision to impose the minimum support price (MSP) was in a bid to protect growers against a sudden slump in the prices of the commodity. 

According to an official notification, the MSP will remain in force until at least January 31, 2024, or until further notified. 

West Bengal, Assam and Bihar are the largest jute-producing states in India, with the annual estimated output of 75.93 lakh, 7.94 lakh and 7.87 lakh bales in the year 2020-21, respectively. 

An estimated 5-6 lakh people are engaged in the farming of jute in West Bengal.

The MSP ensures a return of 63.2 per cent over the all-India weighted average cost of production, and assures a minimum of 50 per cent as the margin of profit. 

The Jute Corporation of India (JCI), the central government nodal agency that undertakes price support operations in jute, operates 110 procurement centres of its own to support farmers selling their produce of the crop.

With inputs from agencies