Jute (Corchorus capsularis & Corchorus olitorius), Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) and Roselle (H.

sabdariffa var (Altissima) are vegetable bast fibre plants next to cotton in importance. In the trade there
are usually two names of jute, White and Tossa. Corchorus capsularis is called White Jute and Corchorus
olitorius is called Tossa Jute. In India & Bangladesh Roselle is usually called Mesta. Jute fibres are finer
and stronger than Mesta and are, therefore, better in quality.

Depending on demand, price and climate, the annual production of jute and allied fibres in the world
remains around 3 million tonnes.

The fibre finds its use in the producing as well as in consuming countries in the agricultural, industrial,
commercial and domestic fields. Sacking and Hessians (Burlap) constitute the bulk of the manufactured
products. Sacking is commonly used as packaging material for various agricultural commodities viz., rice,
wheat, vegetables, corn, coffee beans etc. Sacking and Hessian Cloth are also used as packing materials in
the cement and fertilizer manufacturing industries (New J.H. 1993). Fine Hessian is used as carpet
backing and often made into big bags for packaging other fibres viz. cotton and wool.

Traditionally jute has been used to manufacture packaging materials like hessian, sacking, ropes, twines,
carpet backing cloth etc. In order to overcome the declining market of these conventional products of jute,
new technologies have been evolved for bulk use of jute, as a raw material in the production of high value
added and price competitive intermediaries or final products. A host of innovative new products have
been developed with high value-addition such as home textiles, jute composites, jute geo-textiles, paper
pulp, technical textiles, chemical products, handicrafts and fashion accessories etc. These products for
new, alternative and non-traditional use of jute are generally termed as Diversified Jute Products.

Among the various diversified jute products, floor coverings, home textiles, technical textiles,
geotextiles, jute nonwovens, jute reinforced composites, pulp & paper, particle boards, shopping bags,
handicrafts, fashion accessories, apparels etc. have potential for wider use and application.

Jute Diversified Products :

Bags for various purposes:
Travel bags, beach bags, fancy bags, ladies' bags, school bags, shopping bags, carrier bags and a range of
different bags are available for use, that are made of jute. For shopping bags and similar other uses,
attempts are also made for bag of jute/paper combination.

Handicrafts:
Jute handicraft items are attractive products, produced from jute fibre, yarn and fabric. These products
vary from cushion covers to lamp-shades, from hats to footwear and from hand bags to fashion
accessories. Some attractive items are candle holders, hand bags, jewellery boxes etc.Considering the
value addition and the employment such handicrafts offer, this segment can grow significantly.
Woolenised Jute Yarn:
Jute yarn is converted to have wool like appearance and feel by chemical modification, dyeing and
finishing. It may be used for making sweaters, cardigans etc. It is free from health hazards and also free
from hydrocarbons. It provides adequate warmth and is cheaper than wool and acrylic based products.

Nursery Sheet / Nursery Pot:

A simple technology has been developed for the modification of lightweight hessian into nursery sheet,
which is used in agro-textile as mulching and pot culture in horticulture farm. These are increasingly
being used to replace polythene nursery pots in various Agricultural and Forest departments. The most
important attributes of the jute nursery pots are:

Its lifespan can be designed from 6 to 24 months

Seedlings can be planted along with the nursery pot

Have high moisture retention capacity

Prevent stagnation of water

Help vegetative growth

Increase soil fertility i.e. soil nutrient from bio-decay.

Market value of Raw jute Lamps:

The demand of jute is high in the market for bags, pots, paper etc except for floor lamps market where
demand is low although jute is used to make floor lamps. Floor lamps require quite a hard work and
attention. While making the floor lamps it is possible that fiber of jute could cause skin diseases (allergy,
rashes) and may also cause asthma or other respiratory diseases as it could be absorbed. May be someone
could assume that these are the reasons why usage of raw jute is low in lamps.

Floor lamp ranges Rs.1000-Rs3000.