Spiralling prices of foodgrains and edible oil and low jute prices in the last couple of months have prompted a large number of jute farmers to shift to paddy and oilseed cultivation in the eastern part of the country.

Raw jute (TD-4 variety) prices dropped to Rs 1,170 a quintal on account of cheap imports from Bangladesh in the beginning of this year, when the Union government scrapped the duty on import of raw jute and jute products from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal.

With jute farmers anticipating lower prices for their produce, many of them have opted for paddy and oilseeds in the next cropping season. As a result, the overall jute production is expected to be about 30 per cent lower in the nest jute season.

Last year too, the overall production, which was pegged at 95 lakh (9.5 million) bales (1 bale =180 kg), was actually less by 5 lakh bales.

A speculation of a lower crop in the next season, beginning July, coupled with large-scale hoarding of jute, has increased domestic jute prices by almost Rs 400 a quintal in the last two months. Imported jute from Bangladesh is quoting Rs 100 a quintal more than the local produce.

"In spite of high prices of imported jute, many domestic mill owners are sourcing raw materials outside India as is it is difficult to purchase jute in bulk from the local market," said Ghanshyam Sarda, a jute mill owner in West Bengal.

Jute production from Bihar is set to drop as the sowing area in the state has decreased by 50 per cent, with farmers shifting to paddy cultivation, according to informal estimates by government sources. The state accounts for about 12 per cent of the country's overall jute production.

In Assam too, also accounts for about 10 per cent of the production, there has been a 20 per cent decline in the jute acreage.

In West Bengal, which generally accounts for more than 65 per cent of the production, the sowing area has declined by 25 per cent, with a majority of farmers shifting to oilseeds production, which incurs a relatively low input cost.

The Sarda Group on Thursday said it has acquired a 120-tonne capacity jute mill in Kanpur belonging to Mr G H Singhania's JK Group at the cost of Rs 35 crore.

"We have acquired JK Jute Mills in Kanpur. The mill was closed for about two and half years. We have acquired 92 per cent stake in the company and will go for an open offer shortly in the company listed in the local bourse," Mr Ghanshyam Sarda, Chairman, Sarda Group said here today.

The total acquisition cost was Rs 35 crore, including liability totaling Rs 25 crore. With this acquisition, the group will now have 10 jute mills and the total capacity of the group will go up to 560 tonne per day, he said.

Mr Sarda said he expected the mill to be up for commercial production from May-June this year.

"We will retain all the 4,500 workers associated with the mill," he said. The Rs 2,000-crore group has mills in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Bangladesh. A Greenfield jute mill had been under construction in Alwar, Rajasthan with an investment of Rs 70-80 crore.

"The Rajasthan mill will be up for production from March this year," Mr Sarda said. The group has been evaluating setting up another Greenfield jute mill in Tamil Nadu.

"There is lot of scope for business. Tamil Nadu government buys jute products worth Rs 100 every year. We are negotiating for incentives," Mr Sarda said.

The Sarda Group on Thursday said it has acquired a 120-tonne capacity jute mill in Kanpur belonging to G H Singhania's JK Group at the cost of Rs 35 crore.

"We have acquired JK Jute Mills in Kanpur. The mill was closed for about two and half years. We have acquired 92 per cent stake in the company and will go for an open offer shortly in the company listed in the local bourse," Sarda Group chairman Ghanshyam Sarda told reporters here today.

The total acquisition cost was Rs 35 crore, including liability totalling Rs 25 crore.

With this acquisition, the group will now have 10 jute mills and the total capacity of the group will go upto 560 ton per day, he said.

Sarda said he expected the mill to be be up for commercial production from May-June this year.

"We will retain all the 4,500 workers associated with the mill," he said.

The Rs 2,000-crore group has mills in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Bangladesh. A greenfield jute mill had been under construction in Alwar, Rajasthan with an investment of Rs 70-80 crore.

"The Rajasthan mill will be up for production from March this year," Sarda said.

The group has been evaluating setting up another greenfield jute mill in Tamil Nadu.

"There is lot of scope for business. Tamil Nadu government buys jute products worth Rs 100 every year. We are negotiating for incentives," Sarda said.

Sarda Group, one of the biggest business conglomerates from Kolkata, has been concentrating on jute industry, the major foreign exchange earner for India. Recently, the company has planned of setting up a jute mill in Alwar, Rajasthan.

The facility will require an investment of around Rs100 crores. Spanning an area of around 15-acres, the jute mill is expected to have a processing capacity of 60 ton of raw jute per day.

In this regard, Mr Ghanshyam Sarda of the Sarda Group, while attending a press conference, said, "The Rajasthan facility is aimed at tapping the northern India market, as about 50 percent of the demand for jute sacks prevails in that region. The new mill will also have a two lakh square feet of warehouse facility, enabling us sale of jute sacks directly to farmers at relatively cheaper."

The Group is also planning to acquire the sick government-owned Konark Jute Mill at Dhanmandal in Orissa, which has the capacity to process about 30 tons of raw jute per day.

According to Mr Sarda, jute sector in India lacks skilled labourers. The industry has employed around 30 million people but most of them are unskilled. Observing this, Sarda Group has decided to set up two jute-training institutes at Agarpara and Titagarh in West Bengal.

Sarda Group boasts of reviving nine sick and ailing jute mills, mostly closed after incurring huge losses. It also manages 10 jute mills in the country. Presently, the company commands over 20 percent share in India’s resurgent jute industry.

The Sarda Group has set up two jute production training centers in the state to feed the demand for skilled labour to make the Hessian cloth that goes into diversified products like carrybags, fabrics and low-end blankets.

"We are running short of 5000 people in our mills," said Ghanshyam Sarda, whose Sarda group, now divided among three brothers, operates ten mills with a production of 3500 tonne a day.

Sarda is also setting up a mill in Alwar in Rajasthan to make only the new items that are popular in global markets. The Rs 100 crore mill, with a capacity of 60 tonne a day, is scheduled to begin operations in a year.

The Sardas' ten mills together have around 60,000 workers. Ghanshyam Sarda's mills, which produce 200 tonne a day, do not make the diversified products but supply the Hessian fabric.

Once the centres --- at Agarpara and Titagarh --- are successful, they would set up branches in districts like Murshidabad and Burdwan. The six-month course would be offered free, and focus on managing modern machinery.

Those who sign up would get a stipend of Rs 30 a day along with meals. The stipend would be increased with the course grade. The trained labour would be absorbed in Sarda's jute mills at Rs 125 a day once they pass the final examination.

The two centres together are starting with 40 students but the aim is to train batches of 1000.

The Sarda group has eight mills in West Bengal and one each in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. Of the group's total turnover of about Rs 2,000 crore, jute accounts for Rs 600 crore. It is also present in marine technology and real estate.

Kolkata-based Sarda Group has lined up an investment of Rs 100 crore towards setting up a jute mill in Alwar, Rajasthan.

It is also eying the acquisition of a sick government-owned jute mill called Konark Jute Mill at Dhanmandal in Orissa through bidding. The company had offered Rs 10 crore for the mill, which can process about 30 ton of raw jute per day, to the Orissa government, said Ghanshyam Sarda of the Sarda Group.

"The Rajasthan facility is aimed at tapping the northern India market, as about 50 per cent of the demand for jute sacks is in that region. The new mill will also have a 2 lakh square feet of warehouse facility, enabling us sale of jute sacks directly to farmers at relatively cheaper," he said at a press conference in Kolkata.

A Kolkata-based jute manufacturing company plans to set up at least ten centres to train skilled jute-mill workers in the next three years. The Sarda Group is establishing two state-of-the-art jute-training centres in the Agarpara Jute Mill and the Eastern Jute Mill at Titagarh.

The centres will have a capacity of churning out 1,000 trained workers in the industry per year. "Depending on the success of the first initiative, we are going to set up 10 similar institutes in various parts of the state," said Ghanshyam Sarda, chairman of the Sarda Group.

According to company officials, the recruits will be trained in all kinds of shop floor applications required to work in a jute mill. "The duration of the course is six months. No fee will be charged. Rather, each candidate will be given a stipend in addition to a meal per day. On successful completion of the course, all trainees will be absorbed in our factories and given a certificate as well," Sarda said.

The faculty will be sourced from the Institute of Jute Technology and the company’s own engineers. Each training institute will be built at a of cost around Rs 3 crore, claimed company officials.

The Group is also planning to set up a Rs 100-crore integrated jute hub at Alwar in Rajasthan. "The company has already acquired 15 acres and initial training and production has already started," said a company spokesman.