# Jute and Polypropylene

Woven polypropylene sacks are cheaper, less bulky and more resistant to moisture than jute sacks, and Indian cement and fertiliser makers have long preferred them. Jute keeps the foodgrain sack market largely because the Jute Packaging Materials Act reserves 100% of foodgrains and 20% of sugar for jute bags.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/links/jute-and-polypropylene/

[Jute](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/jute/) (commodity) and [Polypropylene](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/polypropylene/) (chemical): 3 relationships.

## How they are linked

### 1. Rival sacking materials

*Substitution · Strong · Polypropylene sacks replace jute sacks*

Both are made into woven sacks for bulk goods; polypropylene and HDPE woven sacks cost less per bag, are less bulky and resist moisture and insects better.

- **Rs 75 against Rs 25** price of a 100 kg jute bag against a polypropylene bag of the same capacity, Gujarat, 2010

Where users are free to choose, plastic has generally been preferred: an early TIFAC market survey found cement and non-urea fertiliser makers preferred woven plastic sacks as cheaper, while jute was described as excessively strong, bulky and costly. Jute keeps advantages in breathability and biodegradability, which matter for some grain storage and for plastic-reduction rules.

Sources: [TIFAC, Department of Science and Technology](https://tifac.org.in/index.php/programmes/activities/8-publication/93-packaging-tech-hdpe-bags-vs-jute-bags?showall=1); [Plastemart](https://www.plastemart.com/news-plastics-information/gscsf-switches-to-polypropylene-bags-for-packing-sugar-as-jute-mill-workers-strike-continues/16852)

### 2. Mandatory jute packaging

*Policy · High in India · Indian law reserves foodgrain and sugar packing for jute*

The Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory Use in Packing Commodities) Act, 1987 lets the government reserve a share of foodgrain and sugar packing for jute bags, protecting jute demand from cheaper plastic sacks.

- **100% and 20%** share of foodgrains and sugar that must be packed in jute
- **about Rs 9,000 crore** jute sacking bags bought by the government each year, 2023
- **75%** share of jute industry output that is sacking bags, 2023

About 85% of jute sacking goes to the Food Corporation of India and state procurement agencies, so the reservation makes government buying the backbone of the industry, which employs about 3.7 lakh workers directly. The order allows relaxation of up to 30% of the prescribed share during shortages, and in October 2026 the order was extended to 31 January 2027.

Sources: [Business Standard](https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-approves-extension-of-mandatory-jute-packaging-norms-report-123022200530_1.html); [Corpseed](https://www.corpseed.com/law-update/jute-packaging-order-amendment); [Fibre2Fashion](https://fibre2fashion.com/news/textile-news/cabinet-extends-norms-for-mandatory-packaging-in-jute-270651-newsdetails.htm)

### 3. Jute shortages open the door to PP

*Shared risk · Medium · Jute supply disruptions push users to polypropylene*

Jute sacking is made mostly in West Bengal mills, so strikes, crop failures or mill closures quickly create bag shortages, and users then turn to plastic sacks or seek relaxations.

In January 2010 a strike in West Bengal jute mills that began in mid-December 2009 led the Gujarat State Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories to switch to polypropylene bags for sugar. The relaxation clause in the packaging order exists for such shortages, and each relaxation lets plastic sacks into the reserved market.

Sources: [Corpseed](https://www.corpseed.com/law-update/jute-packaging-order-amendment); [Plastemart](https://www.plastemart.com/news-plastics-information/gscsf-switches-to-polypropylene-bags-for-packing-sugar-as-jute-mill-workers-strike-continues/16852)

## For investors

### Key learnings

1. Jute sacking demand in India is set mainly by policy and government grain procurement, not by competition with plastic, so changes to reservation norms matter more than jute or polymer prices.
2. Polypropylene woven sack makers gain whenever reservation is diluted or relaxed, and they are already the preferred sack for cement and fertiliser.
3. Jute mills depend on a single large buyer: about 85% of sacking goes to the Food Corporation of India and state agencies.

### What to track

- **Annual jute packaging reservation norms and relaxations**: Lower reservation or larger relaxation shifts volume to polypropylene sacks (Each jute year · Ministry of Textiles, Cabinet decisions)
- **Government orders for B-twill jute bags**: Shows the volume base for jute mills (Monthly · Jute Commissioner, state procurement agencies)
- **Polypropylene price, India**: Cheaper polymer widens the cost gap with jute in unreserved markets (Monthly · Indian polymer producers' price lists)

## For policymakers

### Key learnings

1. The jute reservation supports farmers and mill workers in the jute belt at a cost to grain and sugar procurement budgets, because jute bags cost more than plastic.
2. Single-use plastic rules and sustainability goals strengthen the case for jute, but cost and supply reliability limit how far it can replace plastic.
3. Shortages of jute bags, from strikes or crop failure, force relaxations, so supply reliability is part of keeping the reservation credible.

### What to track

- **Raw jute production and prices**: A poor crop raises bag costs and the risk of relaxations (Monthly · Jute Commissioner, Jute Corporation of India)
- **Jute sacking supply against procurement needs**: Shortfalls lead to relaxations and more plastic packing (Each season · Ministry of Textiles, Food Corporation of India)
- **Expiry date of the packaging order**: Lapse or non-renewal would expose jute mills to plastic competition (As notified · Gazette of India)

## India

India protects its jute industry by reserving all foodgrain and 20% of sugar packing for jute bags, worth about Rs 9,000 crore of government purchases a year; in unreserved uses such as cement and fertiliser, plastic woven sacks are the usual choice.

## Sources

1. [Govt approves extension of mandatory jute packaging norms](https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-approves-extension-of-mandatory-jute-packaging-norms-report-123022200530_1.html), Business Standard (2023)
2. [Jute packaging order amendment (S.O. 5794(E))](https://www.corpseed.com/law-update/jute-packaging-order-amendment), Corpseed (2026)
3. [Cabinet extends norms for mandatory packaging in jute](https://fibre2fashion.com/news/textile-news/cabinet-extends-norms-for-mandatory-packaging-in-jute-270651-newsdetails.htm), Fibre2Fashion (2020)
4. [Packaging technology: HDPE bags vs jute bags, techno market survey](https://tifac.org.in/index.php/programmes/activities/8-publication/93-packaging-tech-hdpe-bags-vs-jute-bags?showall=1), TIFAC, Department of Science and Technology
5. [GSCSF switches to polypropylene bags for packing sugar as jute mill workers' strike continues](https://www.plastemart.com/news-plastics-information/gscsf-switches-to-polypropylene-bags-for-packing-sugar-as-jute-mill-workers-strike-continues/16852), Plastemart (2010)