Government implements minimum price for jute following bumper output

Kolkata: The government on Thursday fixed the minimum price for jute following reports that farmers are facing losses due to bumper output.

In a notification, the Jute Commissioner said the minimum price has been fixed at Rs 5,050 per quintal at the farm level and Rs 5,500 per quintal for deliveries in Kolkata.

The move was appreciated as average raw jute prices of the most traded variety TD5 had slumped to as low as Rs 4,100 on Wednesday, market sources said. Jute Commissioner Moloy Chandra Chakraborty said that the minimum price of jute in all forms will be in force till October 31 or until further orders for any trade in raw jute.

“No buyer or seller shall be entitled to transact at rates other than those specified in this order,” he said. Jute farmers recently demonstrated in Nadia, Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur, North 24-Parganas, and Hooghly districts demanding better prices and a rise in the MSP for their produce. They had blocked roads and set jute bales on fire.