Bangladesh and jute are synonymous with each other as, much like the golden fibre itself, our nation has a tremendous amount of untapped potential that has yet to fulfilled.
For a large part of our history, jute has largely been ignored as a potential component of our economy -- which is a shame as, in a world where sustainability is so highly valued, we as a country have historically failed to capitalize on the immense potential of jute and jute products.
To that end, the recent declaration of jute as an agricultural product might just be the turning point that the fibre needs to go mainstream, as it has been a demand of jute millers, spinners, and exporters of raw jute for quite a long while.
What's especially noteworthy is that the announcement follows hot on the heels of the government's Tk8 crore incentive package to jute farmers in order to boost crop cultivation. Such policies and incentives are sure to catalyze jute's important role in an increasingly pro-sustainability world -- jute products can be marketed as being eco-friendly and could be a high-quality substitute for plastic, for example.
With the two main pillars of our economy, remittance and RMG exports, both understandably taking a serious hit due to the pandemic and recent world events, the time has never been more right for us to look for alternative ways to prop up our export basket.