Big Food MNC's Say No To Sugar In Jute Bag s

4,00,000  jobs could be impacted  by  refusal of    food  MNC,s companies to accept jute's bags  for  their sugar bags packaging . Indian Govt has made it mandatory for public companies ( JPMA) to use  jute bags instead  of  poly  bags  for their supplies and procurement . This is  to support ailing jute industry  which   gives jobs  to thousands workers   and farmers who grow jute . Food  companies need to install few equipments  to  screen out  foreign particles  in sugar bags . Where as Jute manufacturers  can  innovate  and  manufacture bags which would   remove objections from the food  companies.  Even plastic bags   could  bring contamination  which any case  requires  sifters , magnets an other screening equipments  to remove foreign particles .Bakery and Confectionery  manufacturers are one of the  biggest  consumers of  sugar .


A report

In a body blow to the ailing jute industry in the country, major corporates like Coca Cola India, Cadbury, Nestle India and GlaxoSmithkline have outright rejected the supply of sugar in jute bags. These firms have argued that the jute fibres are contaminating the sugar that they use for manufacture of their products.

These corporate majors, have instead opted for supply of sugar packed in plastic bags.

The snub to jute bags by these corporates has come at a time when the Jute Commissioner's Office (JCO) and the Indian sugar industry have locked horns over the availability of raw jute and production of jute bags in 2010-11.

Over the past few months since the peak sugar season started, all the four food and beverage companies have written letters in phases to the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) expressing their concern over jute sacks and favouring packing their materials in polypropylene sacks.

ISMA in turn has taken up the issue with the Union Textiles Ministry and the Jute Commissioner's Office (JCO) in Kolkata.

source
business standard