New Delhi: The Union Cabinet Wednesday approved a minimum support price of Rs 5,650 per quintal for raw jute for marketing season 2025-26, an increase of 6 per cent or Rs 315 over the previous MSP.
The decision was taken at the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, informed Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
The new Minimum Support Prices (MSP) ensure return of 66.8 per cent over all-India weighted average cost of production and will benefit growers, the minister said.
The government has increased MSP of raw jute from Rs 2,400 per quintal in 2014-15 to Rs 5,650 per quintal for 2025-26 marketing season, an increase of 2.35 times.
The approved MSP of raw jute for Marketing season 2025-26 is in line with the principle of fixing MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times all India weighted average cost of production as announced by the Government in the Budget 2018-19, an official release said.
It is to be noted here that livelihood of 40 lakh farm families directly or indirectly depends on jute industry.
About 4 lakh workers get direct employment in jute mills and trade in jute.
Last year jute was procured from 1.7 lakh farmers.
Eighty-two per cent of jute farmers belong to West Bengal while Assam and Bihar have 9 per cent each of jute production share.
The release said Jute Corporation of India (JCI) will continue as Central Government Nodal Agency to undertake Price Support Operations and the losses incurred, if any, in such operations, will be fully reimbursed by the central government.
PTI