Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee has written to the Central government, asking for its intervention on the “serious crisis” in the West Bengal raw jute industry. He wrote to Union Textile Minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday (January 1, 2026) and said that the “economic and social emergency” in the jute industry was growing rapidly and needed immediate attention.
“The present situation—characterised by acute scarcity of raw jute, extreme price volatility, curtailment of mill operations and loss of employment—has not arisen suddenly. It is the cumulative outcome of policy shortcomings over the last few years, particularly the absence of a credible stabilisation framework for raw jute and irregular demand planning under the Packaging Commodities Supply Order (PCSO) and Gunny Trade Policy (GTP),” Mr. Ritabrata’s letter to Mr. Singh stated.
He further added that though Minimum Support Price (MSP) procurement was done during low price years in 2023-24, no further efforts were made to back up the situation through stabilising mechanisms.
Mr. Ritabrata who also serves as the president of the National Trinamool Trade Union Congress said that the lack of clear norms for reserve quantities, lack of release triggers announcements, and no rotation policy deepened the crisis further. “Consequently, MSP procurement absorbed distress sales by farmers but failed to prevent the present scarcity and price shock,” his letter stated.
