Kolkata, Apr 23 (PTI) An association of jute mill owners has appealed to Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh to withdraw approvals for packaging dilution, granted to Food Corporation of India (FCI), Haryana and Madhya Pradesh procurement agencies, for the rabi marketing season (RMS) 2025-26.

The Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA) also sought West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s intervention against the dilution.

“The Centre has approved the dilution of 1.23 lakh bales in favour of two states and the FCI. We urge the textile ministry and state governments to intervene and withdraw this decision to protect the jute industry and farmers,” IJMA chairman Raghavendra Gupta told PTI.

In a letter dated April 22 to the textile minister, IJMA highlighted that the dilution approvals violate mandatory jute packaging notifications and severely impact the livelihoods of 40 lakh jute farmers and 3.5 lakh industrial workers.

The millers’ association argued that the FCI and the state procurement agencies (SPAs) had failed to adhere to supply plans, with “100 per cent default in indents” for November 2024, leading to last-minute order bunching—over 4 lakh bales in February and 5 lakh in March 2025.

IJMA also emphasised that jute mills have already supplied 96 per cent of orders for FCI and SPAs, with remaining deliveries set for completion by April 30, 2025.

Despite this, the FCI and Haryana have floated tenders for 1.02 lakh synthetic (HDPE/PP) bags, undermining jute demand, the IJMA chairman claimed.

As of now, only 50,000 jute bales are scheduled for May 2025, leaving the industry with surplus capacity, the IJMA letter pointed out.

Demands of the FCI and the state procurement agencies (SPAs) can easily be met within this supply plan, ensuring full utilisation of jute mills and protecting workers’ livelihoods, it said.

Approving synthetic bags is unnecessary and harms the jute sector, the letter noted.

“We would, hence, request that approval for dilution being awarded to FCI and SPAs in the present instance be rescinded forthwith,” Gupta said in the letter.

Dilutions, in future, also need to be awarded only if they are strictly in consonance with the provisions of the Act and notifications so as to not jeopardise the interests of the industry, raw jute farmers and workmen, he added. PTI BSM BDC