The government has withdrawn the ban on export of certain categories of raw jute, including uncut Bangla tossa rejection (BTR) and Bangla white rejection (BWR). The textiles and jute ministry issued a circular in this regard on May 29 this year under the section 13 of the Jute Ordinance 2017, according to a statement of the ministry. On January 18 last year, the government imposed a ban on the export of uncut BTR and BWR varieties of jute for an indefinite period in response to the requests by the local industries for ensuring quality jute. However, the Bangladesh Jute Association (BJA) earlier demanded withdrawal of ban on the export of raw jute. Traders, farmers and workers also expressed concern, saying they would have to face a lot of financial losses because of the ban. Exports of jute and jute goods, an important foreign currency earner, fell 19.99 percent year-on-year to $773.57 million in the July-May period of the current fiscal year, according to Export Promotion Bureau. The sector’s earnings are declining mainly because of higher use of jute goods like sacks in the domestic market and the anti-dumping duty slapped on it by India.
