The country’s jute sector is now showing bright prospects and if the golden days of the golden fibre can be revived, it will give a fillip to economic development.The halcyon days of the jute sector came to an end in the 1980s on account of the lack of product diversification to suit the changing needs of the market, lack of entrepreneurship and the government’s failure to properly handle the jute mills.Now there is renewed hope in the horizon for the jute sector. Demand for jute and jute-based products are growing in the global market as the fibre is economical and highly biodegradable. In addition to the global market, a large domestic market for diversified jute products is also expected to be created as large-scale environmental pollution caused by the widespread use of plastic goods is causing concern. In January this year, the textiles and jute ministry asked the authorities concerned, including divisional commissioners and district administrations, to conduct mobile courts against traders who use plastic bags to package imported rice. The authorities will launch a special drive again to ensure the mandatory use of jute bags, as the time-frame for the permissible use of plastic bags for imported rice ended on December 31.Jute and jute goods exports have risen significantly in the 2018–19 financial year compared to the previous fiscal year (2017–18) on the back of a robust government policy framework, availability of quality raw materials, jute goods diversification and better crop management. In addition, global concern about climate change has helped open up new opportunities for Bangladesh, said industry experts.The jute and jute goods sector fetched export earnings of USD 74.26 million in the current fiscal year (2018–19). This was up from the USD 64.53 million recorded for the same period in the previous financial year (2017–18), thereby indicating a steady growth of 15.08 per cent, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).Jute and jute goods make up the third sector that has crossed the USD 1-billion mark last year in export receipts after readymade garments and leather and leather products. It, therefore, indicates the reduction of the country’s dependency on the apparel sector as well. The chairman of the Bangladesh Jute Goods Exporters Association, Sajjad Hussain Sohel, told The Independent that Sudan and Turkey have produced sufficient amount of crops in this year. These two countries along with other African countries have imported jute and jute goods from Bangladesh this year.“Bangladesh produces quality jute yarn and, because of that, the demand has increased. Its price has also increased from about USD 500 to USD 600 per tonne of yarn,” said Sohel, who is the managing director of Erans Trade International Ltd. Bangladeshi jute exporters are exporting jute and jute goods worth an average of Tk. 30 to 35 crore per year, he said.Jute sacks and bags fetched USD 7.77 million in the current fiscal year (2018–19), a growth of 59.88 per cent over 2017–18, according to EPB data.While describing the advantage of jute bags, Sohel noted that such bags should not be stacked higher than 4 metres while for plastic bags the ideal height is 3 metres. Plastic bags are more slippery and the stacks will be less stable, he explained. Again, jute bags can easily protect grains from insects and can be stored efficiently, he said. However, just the production and marketing of jute bags and sacks cannot ensure the sector’s stability and prosperity. Of late, innovation has entered the sector. Now there are various types of jute products in the market, including different kinds of bags, office items, household items, home textiles, decorative items, shoes, yarns and fabrics, pulp and paper and fashion accessories as well as some composite items. More research needs to be conducted for the development of new products and technologies.According to information from the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC), it produced 1,00,800 metric tonnes of jute last year and 1,045,000 metric tonnes of jute this year, indicating a spurt over last year.HM Rezaul Karim, vice-president of the Bangladesh Jute Goods Exporters’ Association, told The Independent that worldwide, demand for jute products is rising as more people have relinquished the use of polythene and are moving towards this eco-friendly product.Lutfur Rahaman, senior vice-chairman of Bangladesh Jute Goods Exporters Association, told The Independent that the demand for jute sacks is also rising in African countries such like Cameroon, Tanzania, Uganda, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt and Sudan. They use sacks to package food-grains.Again, countries like Japan and South Korea use jute in car interiors, electronic casings and other surfaces because the fibre is 100 per cent environmentally friendly. It is bio-degradable and recyclable as well, pointed out Lutfur Rahaman, who is the managing director of Shyamol Bangla Jutex Ltd.Also, as he said, “For about six months or more, we have seen that the taka has depreciated against the dollar, which has eventually impacted the export value and growth as well.”He said, “Shyamol Bangla Jutex is an export-oriented company which produces diversified jute products. We produce non-traditional nursery items like plain and treated squares, plain and treated liners, plain and treated rolls and spiral bags.” As far as traditional products are concerned, he added: “We produce jute shopping bags only for the local market.”Describing some of the challenges, he said: “The development of a strategic marketing plan for the promotion of jute and jute goods in the global market is essential at this juncture.”Sixty per cent of jute products are being exported through trading companies but local mills have also started directly exporting their products which, he said, eventually brings them less money. According to the BJMC, Bangladesh produced 9.2 million bales of jute in 2017 while the figure was 5 million bales in year 2016. Some 240 types of products are produced by the jute sector in Bangladesh. The average production of jute goods is 663,000 per year. More than 40 million people are directly and indirectly involved in this sector.Rahaman observed that the BJMC fixes the export price of jute products but private mills do not follow this rule. They take advantage of this and sell it at lower prices.A total of 22 government jute mills are running and fully active at this moment. Exporters do not get any incentives from the government but local manufacturers enjoy 7.5 per cent cash incentives from the government.Describing some challenges, he recalled that the government implemented the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act, 2010, later enforced in 2014, in order to promote the country’s jute sector. However, though initially 17 agricultural commodities—sugar, rice, maize, wheat, paddy, fertilisers and so on—were supposed to be contained in jute packages, just a single commodity (rice) is currently delivered using jute packaging, he added.The possibilities of jute use are not only vast but also increasing. The industry now needs new investments, modernisation of factories, diversification of products and exploration of new export markets in tandem with the right policy support from the government, he said.
