India has turned down their mill owners' plea to import raw jute from Bangladesh, saying there is enough stock for the next few months.

Jute mill owners are witnessing extremely high demand for jute bags this year owing to large orders from state-owned Food Corporation of India and the West Bengal government.

"Considering the monthly consumption of raw jute which has been indicated to be in the range of 5.5 lakh bales and the current arrival in the market, there is enough raw jute available for the coming months and there is no urgency for immediate import," the country's Jute Commissioner's Office said to the Indian Jute Mills Association (IJMA).

It said a review on the import decision is likely in January-February next year.

The IJMA, in a recent letter to the Indian Textile Ministry Secretary, had said the import of raw jute has become inevitable in the present situation.

"The yield was hit due to cyclone Amphan [in April] and will be lower by at least 20 percent than what was estimated earlier. We have, thus, requested the Centre [for imports] so that we can meet the demand for jute bags," an official said.

The IJMA had estimated a harvest of 75 lakh bales of raw jute this year.