Telangana jute sector draws Rs 887 crore

Three companies to set up jute mills in the State; to provide over 10,400 direct jobs

Hyderabad: Reflecting the growing importance of food processing in Telangana, three companies have come forward to set up jute mills in the State with a cumulative investment of Rs 887 crore. These units will provide direct employment to about 10,400 people. These proposed new jute mills will reduce Telangana’s dependence on other States and take it towards self-reliance.

The three companies entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the State government on Friday for setting up the units in the State, in the presence of Industries Minister KT Rama Rao, Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy and Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar.

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Speaking on the occasion, Rama Rao said Gloster Limited agreed to invest about Rs 330 crore to set up jute mill in Warangal, Kaleswaram Agro Limited to invest Rs 254 crore in Kamareddy and MBG Commodities Rs 303 crore in Sircilla. “These will lead to new employment creation for about 10,400 people,” he said.

Rao said there was need to be self-sufficient in jute as the demand had been rising on the back of increasing agriculture produce and procurement in the State. Telangana is making efforts to revolutionise the agriculture sector through optimum utilisation of resources from Godavari and Krishna rivers and local water bodies as well.

The Minister stressed the need for farmers to look at alternate crops as well for sustainable profitability. More jute mills are likely to come up in other districts as well in view of the focus that Telangana was placing on food processing. Jute can also be a sustainable alternate to plastic. He promised government support to the companies setting up jute industries in the State.

Agriculture Minster S Niranjan Reddy said Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had been placing special focus on jute industry with the increase in agriculture produce. He said the State would encourage farmers to take up jute cultivation to meet the requirements of the mills.

Minister Kamalakar said demand for gunny bags in the State had been on rise. In 2014, foodgrain production was about 24 lakh MT and about 3.2 crore new gunny bags were needed. “Today, more than 50 crore new gunny bags are needed as the grain production has crossed 141 lakh MT. The average requirement of bags per crop season was around 20 crore units and that has now gone up to 35.2 crore units,” he said.

The State has been sourcing gunny bags from West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh paying Rs 49 to Rs 62 per bag. This apart, it spent about Rs 2.50 per unit on transportation. With new jute mills coming up in Telangana, the State will be in a position to save on these costs, Kamalakar said, and urged the companies to allot their entire production of bags to Telangana to meet the demand.

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