Jute Cultivation Discovery
Think of the rough brown sack that holds rice at a ration shop. Chances are, it’s made of jute. This plant fibre has been grown in the fields of Bengal for centuries. It once made Kolkata the jute capital of the world.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the story of jute cultivation in India. We’ll see how farmers grow it, how the fibre is freed from the stem, and how a village craft became a giant industry.
Table of Contents
What Is Jute?
Jute is a long, shiny fibre that comes from the stem of a tall plant. The fibre sits just under the outer skin of the stem. It is rough and strong, so it can be spun into thick threads, ropes and cloth.
The plants belong to a group called Corchorus. Two kinds are grown on a large scale:
- White jute (Corchorus capsularis). This is the kind Bengalis have used for ropes and twine since old times.
- Tossa jute (Corchorus olitorius). Its fibre is softer, silkier and stronger than white jute.
Jute fibres are off white to brown in colour. They can be one to four metres long. In Bengal, jute is known as paat. It is often called the “golden fibre”, both for its colour and for the money it brings.
The Early History of Jute in India
Jute has deep roots in the Indian subcontinent. Historians believe it was used to make textiles as far back as the Indus Valley civilisation, more than 4,000 years ago.
For centuries after that, jute stayed a village crop. Families in what is now West Bengal and Bangladesh grew it for their own use.
The Ain i Akbari, written by Abul Fazl in 1590 during Emperor Akbar’s reign, mentions it too. It says that poor villagers in India wore clothes made of jute. Weavers spun the fibre on simple hand spinning wheels and wove it on handlooms, the same tools they used for cotton. You can read more about India’s other great plant fibre in our story on the history of cotton cultivation.
How Jute Became a World Trade
Sacks for Southeast Asia
Bengal jute went abroad long before any big factory existed. From the 17th century, Dutch and French traders shipped it to Southeast Asia. The British East India Company followed. It sent gunny sacks from Bengal to Southeast Asia in the 17th and 18th centuries. Learn how the Company grew from traders into rulers in our article on the expansion of East India Company rule.
The Dundee connection
In the 1790s, small amounts of raw jute began going to Dundee, a city in Scotland. Its mills spun flax, and they mixed in a little jute to cut costs. Jute was too stiff for their machines at first. Then mill workers found a trick. Soaking the fibre in whale oil made it soft enough to spin by machine. This happened around the 1830s.
After that, demand shot up. Jute began to replace flax in sacks, ropes and cloth. Dundee grew so dependent on it that people nicknamed the city “Juteopolis”. Back in Bengal, farmers planted more and more jute. But the old craft of spinning by hand at home declined.
1855: The first jute mill in India
In 1855, a man named George Acland brought jute spinning machines from Dundee to Bengal. He set up India’s first jute mill at Rishra, on the Hooghly River near Kolkata. It didn’t succeed at first. Even so, others followed. In 1857, the Borneo Company opened a steam powered mill, and soon a dozen firms were making jute goods.
By the end of the 1800s, Bengal’s jute industry had overtaken Scotland’s. Indian investors, including Marwari brokers like the Birla group, entered the trade from the 1890s. Over time, they became the main owners of the mills.
Jute sacks were in huge demand during wartime. More than a billion jute sandbags went from Bengal to the trenches of World War I.
Partition and after
The Partition of 1947 split the jute world in two. About 75% of the jute growing land went to East Pakistan, which is now Bangladesh. But all 106 jute mills stayed in India. Today, India is the world’s largest producer of jute. Bangladesh is the largest exporter of raw jute.
Clearing Up Some Common Mistakes
Some short articles on this topic mix up a few facts.
- “Bengalwas” was not a place. Some websites say the early centre of jute growing was “Bengalwas, a place in Bengal”. No such place appears in the history books. Jute was simply grown across the Bengal region.
- Kolkata did not become a farming centre in 1855. The fields stayed in rural Bengal. What happened in 1855 was the first jute mill opening at Rishra, near Kolkata. Kolkata became the centre of jute milling and trade, not growing.
- Jute did not first go only to the West. Bengal jute was traded to Southeast Asia from the 17th century. Big exports to Britain came later, from the 1790s onward.
How Jute Is Grown Today
Jute is a crop of the hot, wet season. It likes flat land with rich alluvial soil, the kind left behind by rivers. That’s why the river plains of eastern India suit it so well.
Where it grows
West Bengal grows the largest share of India’s raw jute. Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Jharkhand follow. Together, West Bengal, Bihar and Assam give about 80% of the total crop. Read our guides to West Bengal and Assam to learn about the land and people there.
Weather it needs
| Condition | What jute likes |
|---|---|
| Temperature | 20 to 40 degrees Celsius |
| Humidity | 70% to 80% |
| Rain in the growing period | 700 to 1,500 mm |
| Soil | Alluvial soil on plain land |
Most jute is rain fed. It is mainly grown by small and marginal farmers.
Sowing and harvest
Farmers usually sow jute between March and May. The exact time depends on when the pre monsoon showers arrive. White jute can be sown from the end of February. The crop takes about 100 to 120 days to grow, so harvest falls between July and September.
Cut early, and you get finer fibre but less of it. Wait longer, and you get more, but it’s coarser. Experts suggest about 110 to 120 days.
From Stem to Fibre: The Retting Process
You can’t just peel jute fibre off a fresh plant. It is stuck to the woody core of the stem. Farmers loosen it with a natural process called retting.
- Cutting. The plants are cut close to the ground.
- Leaf shedding. The cut plants are left in the field for two or three days so the leaves drop off.
- Bundling. The stems are tied into bundles.
- Soaking. The bundles are sunk under water in ponds, ditches or slow streams and weighed down.
- Letting tiny microbes work. Bacteria and fungi in the water slowly break down the soft parts of the stem. This frees the fibre.
- Stripping. Workers pull the fibre away from the woody stick.
- Drying. The fibre is then dried before it is sold.
Retting can take around 8 to 10 days in warm water. In many places, the traditional method takes closer to three weeks. Indian jute scientists have developed a microbial mix called CRIJAF SONA that helps. Under a government scheme, it cut retting time to 12 to 14 days, with better fibre.
What Is Jute Used For?
Jute is cheap, strong and breaks down naturally. It is used for:
- Sacks and gunny bags for grain, sugar and coffee
- Hessian cloth for bags, wrappers and wall coverings
- Ropes and twine
- Backing cloth for carpets
- Mats laid on soil to stop erosion
Jute lost ground when cheap plastic bags became common. But as more countries ban single use plastic, jute bags are making a comeback.
How India Supports Jute Farmers
Under the Jute Packaging Materials Act of 1987, the government decides which goods must be packed in jute. Its current order says all foodgrains under the rules and 20% of sugar must go in jute bags. Extended on 1 July 2026, it runs to 31 October 2026 unless replaced sooner. Small packs and some other items are exempt.
There is also a minimum support price for raw jute. When market prices fall below it, the Jute Corporation of India buys jute straight from farmers through its purchase centres.
FAQs About Jute Cultivation
Where is jute grown in India?
Mostly in the east. West Bengal grows the largest share, followed by Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Jharkhand.
When was the first jute mill set up in India?
In 1855. George Acland set it up at Rishra, on the Hooghly River near Kolkata, using machines from Dundee in Scotland.
Why is jute called the golden fibre?
Because of its shiny golden brown colour and because it earns good money for farmers and traders.
What is retting?
Retting means soaking jute stems in water so that tiny microbes loosen the fibre from the woody core. The fibre can then be stripped out by hand.
Which season is jute grown in?
It is a hot, wet season crop. Farmers sow it from March to May and harvest it from July to September.
Is India the biggest jute producer?
Yes. India is the largest producer of jute in the world. Bangladesh is the largest exporter of raw jute.
Final Thoughts
Jute’s story runs from village ropes in old Bengal to giant mills on the Hooghly. It shaped whole cities, from Kolkata to Dundee. Today, as the world looks for things that break down naturally, this humble golden fibre may have its best days ahead.