The Union Government of India has diluted the mandatory jute packaging act by 20 percent till May 2009, in order to meet the shortage of packing materials for food grains in view of the prolonged strike by workers of the jute mill industry.
This order in effect means that food grain producers and govt agencies may use alternative packaging material up to 20 percent. The Ministry of Textiles said that this would ensure enough packaging material for the current and upcoming seasons.
It may be recalled that there was a move to dilute the jute packaging order up to 25 percent in the first few months of 2009, when the act expired in June 2009 and was up for review, but the Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs (CCEA) retained the status quo.
The textile ministry has estimated a demand for 1.48 million bales of jute bags from November to February and foresees a shortfall of 380,000 bales, because of the strike. The supply of bags was just around 40,000 bales till December 14, when the strike began.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India