Mandatory jute sacks for 11 more farm products
The government is set to make jute packaging mandatory for 11 more agricultural products as it continues to drum up domestic support for the ailing industry.
“Bringing more items under the compulsory packaging rule will accelerate the domestic use of jute goods,” said Nasima Begum, joint secretary of the textiles and jute ministry, adding that the notice will be sent soon.
The newly-added commodities to the compulsory packaging rule are: chilli, onion, ginger, garlic, turmeric, pulses, coriander, potato, flour and rice bran. The latest move is expected to create an additional demand for 7.26 lakh bales (1.32 lakh tonnes) of jute a year, according to an estimate of the Department of Jute.
Industry insiders said the move will help jute goods makers face the fallout of the antidumping duty imposed by India.
India on January 5 slapped an antidumping duty on the import of jute and jute goods from Bangladesh and Nepal to protect the domestic industry.
For Bangladesh's jute goods exporters, the duty ranges between $19 and $352 per tonne -- a measure that is likely to affect shipments of jute products to the neighbouring country.
India accounted for 17 percent, or 1.41 lakh tonnes, of the 8.25 lakh tonnes of jute goods exports registered in fiscal 2015-16, according to data compiled by the DoJ.
Increased domestic consumption for inclusion of more items under the mandatory packaging rule will provide support to manufactures to withstand any possible fall in demand, Nasima Begum said.
Bangladesh started enforcing the mandatory packaging rule for commodities -- mainly rice, wheat and maize -- from the last quarter of 2015 to limit the use of environmentally harmful plastic bags.
Industry insiders said the domestic use of jute has increased because of the enforcement of the rule.
For example, Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation sold 43,000 tonnes of sacks and other goods in fiscal 2015-16, up 72 percent year-on-year, said a senior official seeking to remain unnamed.
Private jute mills also recorded higher domestic sales, said Abdul Barik Khan, secretary of Bangladesh Jute Mills Association.
The DoJ also estimates a rise in domestic use in fiscal 2015-16.
Its data showed that jute goods production rose to 9.63 lakh tonnes last fiscal year, up 11 percent from a year earlier.
Increased demand also encouraged farmers to grow jute on increased amount of land in the last cultivation season.
Farmers grew jute on 7.38 lakh hectares and harvested 82.47 lakh bales of jute in fiscal 2016-17, up 9 percent year-on-year, according to provisional data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
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