In an effort to ensure jute use in packaging, the government has extended the ban on export of raw jute for an indefinite period.
In an order issued yesterday, the Textiles and Jute Ministry said the raw jute export would remain suspended until further notice for making use of jute mandatory in packaging of products.
On November 3, the government had banned jute exports for a month.
The government enacted a law in January 2014 to revive the jute industry, making it mandatory for the country’s agriculture sector to do all kinds of packaging with jute.
The law says that paddy, rice, wheat, maize, fertiliser and sugar must be packaged in jute bags. Violators face a maximum of one year in jail or a fine of Tk50,000 or both for using non-degradable synthetics to package commodities.
In line with the government’s move, the central bank had issued a circular on October 12 that reads no businessmen concerned will be allowed to take loan from banks unless jute bags are used in their product packaging.
Welcoming the move, Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association (BJSA) chairman Ahmad Hossain said the decision is good and it would bring benefit for the spinners who use more than 36 lakh of bales per year.
According to the Department of Jute, demand for raw jute in the domestic market is 75 lakh bales.
Pakistan, Nepal and India are the largest buyers of Bangladesh raw jute to feed their textile mills.
According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the country produced around 75 lakh bales of raw jute in the last fiscal year and forecast production is expected to decline in the current financial year due to heavy rain coupled with flooding during cultivation period.
