Jute mills in Bengal are facing a host of issues ranging from intense competition to cheap Bangladeshi imports. While production decreased by three lakh tons, consumption of jute products went down declined by 2.5 lakh tons. Falling demand for jute bags and worker problems are plaguing jute mills, prompting many to shut down.

There are around 59 jute mills in Bengal, employing close to 4, 00,000 people, and almost all are currently making losses because of market conditions. Synthetic bags are cheaper than bags made of natural fiber, and the jute industry would have been in dire straits by now had jute as packaging material for various commodities not been made mandatory.

However, the law was tweaked in 2012-13 to allow greater use of plastic bags as packaging material for sugar and food grains. This was done based on food grain production projections but actual output fell short of estimates. That means the law allowed sale of more plastic bags than was required in the market and the piled up inventory of plastic bags from 2012-13 continues to be used.

Now, policy intervention, both long-term and short-term, is being considered to address the issues impeding the growth of the jute industry upon which the economy of West Bengal is highly dependent.