Jute industry scrips, once the darling of speculators and punters on account of hefty profits and exceptional liquidity, have been doing very badly on the bourses for several years now.
Among the best run companies in the industry, Cheviot has slipped down 1.68 per cent from the beginning of August on the BSE. Today it ended the day at Rs 38.
Birla Corporation, the diversified conglomerate of the M P Birla group, lost 7.86 per cent from the beginnning of August, ending the day today at Rs 16.40. Jute and jute products is one of the major products of the company, and it runs a township called Birlapur on the outskirts of Kolkata for its jute business.
Champdany Industries, which produces value-added products, has not fared better under the circumstances. Its scrip was traded around Rs 37 in July of this year. It was last traded on October 7 at Rs 29.
Even scrips of jute companies owned by major stock market entities, like Hoogly Jute Mills of Arun Bajoria, have hardly attracted a mention on the bourses. Existing companies in the industry are unlikely to attract fresh investments because all are saddled with huge manpower and obsolete technology, which erodes the attractiveness of their vast real estate holdings and inherently eco-friendly and flexible technology.
However, new jute mills are being set up in both eastern and southern India with low manpower and overheads and modern technology.
