Export earnings from jute yarn and twine jumped in November of the current financial year 2015-16 thanks to a ban on raw jute export imposed by the government with effect from November 3. Sector people say they started to receive increased volume of export orders for jute yarn and twine after the imposition of ban and they hope that the orders will increase in the days to come. They hope that the countries which used to import raw jute from Bangladesh will now place orders to the country for yarn and twine and other jute products. In the weekly cabinet meeting at the secretariat on Monday prime minister Sheikh Hasina, however, asked the jute and textiles ministry to allow export of raw jute in a limited scale considering the appeal of the businessmen who had already opened letters of credit to export the item. Export earnings from jute yarn and twine in July-October fetched $154.57 million which was on an average $38.64 million per month while the earnings in November jumped to $51.61 million, according to statistics of the Export Promotion Bureau. ‘The export of jute yarn and twine increased in November due to the imposition of ban on raw jute export as the countries which used to import raw jute from Bangladesh for producing yarn by themselves are now placing import orders for raw jute,’ Ahmed Hossain, president of Bangladesh Jute Spinners’ Association, told New Age on Monday. Ahmed, also the managing director of Nawab Abdul Malek Jute Mills (Bd) Ltd, said that the government imposed the raw jute export ban considering the shortage of the item for meeting up demands for local jute mills as well as to implement the Mandatory Packaging Act. The EPB data showed that the export earnings from jute and jute goods in the July-November in the FY16 grew by 2.86 per cent to $358.60 million from $348 million in the same period of FY15. Earnings from jute yarn and twine in the July-November period witnessed a 2.70 per cent negative growth to $206.18 million from $211.90 million in the same period of last financial year. Export earnings from raw jute in the July-October period amounted to $69.01 million which was on an average 17.25 million per month while the export of the item dropped to $7.29 million in November as the government imposed the ban on export of the item in the month, the EPB data showed. Earnings from raw jute in the July-November period amounted to $73.61 million with 70.35 per cent growth. The major destination of Bangladesh’s raw jute was India as the country (India) suffers from scarcity of the item due to lower output. According to the EPB data, raw jute export to India in July-October period of the FY16 amounted to $37.91 million which was one an average $9.47 million per month while the earnings dropped to 0.16 million in November due to the ban. Export of jute yarn and twine to India in the first four months of the FY16 was $23.49 million which was on an average $5.87 million per month. Export earnings from yarn and twine in November increased to $8.30 million. Export earnings from yarn and twine in July-November amounted to $31.79 million.
