Jamdani export to India faces hurdle

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Monira Munni
Export of Jamdani saree to India where it is highly demanded has been facing hurdle because New Delhi imposed duty to discourage import from Bangladesh.
About 80 per cent export of Jamdani saree, a luxurious women's wear, used to be exported to India where the demand is high. But the exporters can not meet the demand as Delhi declined to allow duty free entry, the manufacturers and exporters told the FE Sunday.
Due to various difficulties the industry is on the verge of collapse, claimed the weavers of Jamdani saree and drew attention of the government to protect the fading glory of the famous saree by helping export of their products.
Bangladeshi jamdani saree, an elegant women's wear, is famous for its colour, designs and neatly weaving that enhances the beauty and grace of women.
"India imposed four per cent duty on Jamdani saree in 2007 and since then we are lobbying with concerned authorities to resolve the problem," president of Bangladesh Jamdani Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BJMEA) M R Mostak told the FE.
Recently the association made a written appeal to the commerce ministry to take necessary steps to resolve the duty restriction imposed by India.
As the weavers were facing hardships, their number has now declined to half from around 30,000 few years back.
It takes at least ten to twelve days to weave an average quality Jamdani saree and the cost is no less than Tk 5,000, said a weaver.
He said it is very hard to survive for a genuine handmade Jamdani weaver as low quality machine made Jamdani flooded the market.
The jamdani sarees manufactured by automatic looms are available at Tk 3,000-3500 per piece while the cost of a hand loom jamdani is around Tk 8,000-10,000 in the local market.
Mr Mostak alleged that the Indian authority does not allow import of high quality expensive Jamdani although the demand of those is high. "We are allowed to export Jamdani which does not cost more than $50."
According to him, the weavers in Bangladesh produce high quality Jamdani, the prices of which could be even more than Tk 0.1 million. The average price of a fine quality Jamdani is Tk 30,000-40,000.
"We have appealed to the concerned authorities to include Jamdani in the list of 126 items which were allowed duty free access to India," MA Bari, an exporter said adding export would jump manifold if duty free access is given.
According to sources, India had attempted several times to produce the fabric but failed mainly because of lack of trained weavers. On the other hand, climate is another major factor as it is produced on the bank of the river Shitalakkaya in Sonargaon, Rupganj in Narayanganj district alone.