Textiles and jute minister Emaz Uddin Pramanik on Wednesday told parliament that export of jute goods to India have been affected after New Delhi imposed antidumping duties on jute products from Bangladesh. Export of jute goods to India came down to Tk 50 crore this year from usual Tk 275 crore to Tk 300 crore per year as the country imposed antidumping duties on jute products from Bangladesh, Emaz said while replying to a query from ruling Awami League lawmaker Ummey Razia Kajol. India slapped the antidumping duty – ranging between $19 and $352 per tonne — on January 5, this year following which shipments from Benapole land port, which handles over 90 per cent of Bangladesh’s jute exports to India, fell this year, said officials. Emaz while replying to a query from AL lawmaker Bazlul Haque Haroon also said that proposal for formation of a Tk 10,000 crore special fund for expanding jute industries was under process. For expanding jute industry, proposal for formation of a Tk 10,000 crore special fund, similar to the Export Development Fund, was under process, the minister said. Proposal for forming the special fund was made as part of initiatives to restore the past glory of jute, he said. The government formed EDF in 1989 to provide low-cost finance and enable export-oriented sectors to buy raw materials from abroad to make exportable items. The size of the EDF, a revolving fund, is about $ 2.5 billion, according to a senior official of the central bank. Present government is working wholeheartedly for reviving the past glory of jute sector and development of this potential sector by adopting some time-befitting and pragmatic steps, Emaz said. He said that government had taken initiative to go for balancing, modernisation, renovation and expansion (BMRE) of 26 jute mills in phases at a cost of Tk 6,000 crore financing from Chinese government. Emaz said that the government had laid emphasis on jute sector by establishing the Jute Commission and putting in place the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act 2010.
