CCEA greenlights jute packaging reservation norms for 2023-24

INDIA – The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has sanctioned jute’s obligatory use in packaging for Jute Year 2023-24, running from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, on December 8, 2023.

The approved norms mandate 100% use of jute bags for food grains and 20% for sugar packaging.

These norms aim to safeguard domestic raw jute production and packaging in India, fostering self-reliance in line with Aatmnirbhar Bharat.

Approximately 65% of the country’s raw jute production in 2022-23 was consumed by jute packaging material reservations.

Implementing the Jute Packaging Materials (JPM) Act will provide relief to 400,000 workers in jute mills and ancillary units, sustaining the livelihoods of around 4 million farm families.

Moreover, this initiative promotes environmental protection due to jute’s natural, biodegradable, renewable, and reusable properties, meeting sustainability standards.

The jute industry holds a significant position in India’s economy, particularly in the Eastern Region encompassing West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. It stands as a major industry in West Bengal.

Under the JPM Act, reservations ensure direct employment for 400,000 workers and 4 million farmers in the jute sector.

Enacted in 1987, the JPM Act safeguards the interests of jute farmers, workers, and those involved in jute goods production.

Jute sacking bags contribute 75% to the jute industry’s total production, with 85% supplied to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and State Procurement Agencies (SPAs), while the rest is either exported or sold directly.

The Indian government annually procures jute sacking bags worth roughly Rs. 12,000 crore for foodgrain packing, assuring a guaranteed market for jute farmers and workers.

The average production of jute sacking bags amounts to approximately 3 million bales (900,000 metric tons).

The government is resolute in ensuring complete off-take of the sacking production of jute bags to safeguard the interests of jute farmers, workers, and industry participants.

Earlier this year, CCEA approved an extension of the mandatory packaging norms for Jute Year 2022-23.

These norms were specified as part of the Jute Packaging Material Act 1987 and were previously made mandatory for Jute Year 2021-22.

The extension created direct jobs for 370,000 workers at jute mills and ancillary units, as well as a further four million families in the jute sector.

It also helped protect the environment because jute is a natural, bio-degradable, renewable and reusable fiber and hence fulfills all sustainability parameters.

For all the latest packaging and printing industry news from Africa and the World, subscribe to our NEWSLETTER, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, like us on Facebook, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.