New Delhi, Apr 20 (PTI) The government on Monday said it has reduced stock limits for raw jute traders and balers to zero, in a bid to prevent hoarding and ensure adequate availability of raw jute for mills, while safeguarding interests of workers and the industry.
The decision by the Ministry of Textiles follows a sharp rise in raw jute prices over the past few months, which have remained well above the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for 2025-26.
As a result, various stakeholders have expressed concerns regarding the availability of raw jute.
“The stock limits imposed by the Jute Commissioner through the notification dated 20.03.2026 have now been revised to ensure fair distribution and prevent hoarding or speculative practices,” an official statement
said.
The revised raw jute stock limits stipulate that raw jute balers with baling press on premises and registered with Jute Commissioner Office “must sell entire quantity of raw jute held by them by 5 May 2026 with physical delivery completed by 15 May 2026”.
The stock limits for raw jute balers not registered with Jute Commissioner Office and raw jute stockists without baling press have also been revised to nil.
Meanwhile, jute mills and processing units are allowed to hold stock only up to 45 days of their consumption.
“The volatility in prices and non-availability of raw jute have potential to threaten the jute industry and has potential for disruption in the employment in the industry. These measures are intended to stabilise jute supply and support the interests of farmers, manufacturers, and consumers nationwide,” the Textiles Ministry stated.
All stocking entities are required to declare and update jute stock positions fortnightly on the Jute SMART portal.
Officials are authorised to inspect premises and records, and to seize excess stocks found in contravention of this order.
Request has also been made to respective state governments for assistance in enforcement action against the entities hoarding the raw jute, the textiles ministry stated.
Punitive action in terms of Essential Commodities Act, 1955 shall be initiated against any entity, which is found to be in violation of the instructions regarding declaring the stock positions or violation of stock limits, it added.
Penalty for contravention of the stock control order is provided under Section 7 of Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Further, confiscation provisions for violation of the order are defined under Section 6 and penalty for false statements is provided under Section 9 of the Act. PTI RSN TRB
