Jute industry in crisis as market arrivals lags behind seasonal projections
The West Bengal jute industry is facing a critical raw material bottleneck as actual market arrivals of the ‘golden fiber’ lag severely behind seasonal projections. Despite official estimates of a 60 lakh bale crop for the 2025-26 season, only 30 lakh bales reached mills by December 2025. This 50 per cent deficit has triggered an administrative crackdown, with the Office of the Jute Commissioner recently seizing 10,000 quintals of illegally stockpiled raw jute from godowns in Malda and Murshidabad to curb artificial price inflation.
The crisis has moved beyond supply logistics into industrial instability. At a high-level tripartite meeting on Wednesday, the Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA) and trade unions reported that acute shortages have pushed domestic raw jute prices towards an unviable Rs 13,000 per quintal. Consequently, several mills have implemented partial production suspensions, affecting thousands of workers. Compounding the domestic crunch is a unilateral restriction on raw jute exports from Bangladesh, which has traditionally served as a critical supply valve for Indian spinners and manufacturers.
The imbalance between rising input costs and frozen bag prices is making operations financially impossible, states an IJMA representative. To reduce the impact, the state government has authorized the Enforcement Branch to intensify de-hoarding operations and is preparing a joint delegation to seek federal intervention in New Delhi. The industry is now advocating for a centralized supply channel through the Jute Corporation of India to ensure traceable, equitable fibre distribution and prevent a total sector collapse by the end of the current quarter.
The Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA) represents the interests of the $1.5 billion jute manufacturing sector, primarily concentrated in West Bengal. It manages policy advocacy and market stabilization for the natural fiber industry. IJMA is currently focused on modernizing legacy mills and securing raw material buffers to protect four lakh direct industrial livelihoods.