Nepal has again requested Bangladesh to lift the ban that the latter has imposed on raw jute export. Nepal says its factories are in serious trouble due to shortage of the natural fibre, officials said.
The government on November 03 last year imposed the ban for one month and later extended it for an indefinite period as part of its efforts to enforce mandatory jute packaging act.
However, in response to requests from different countries the government on December 15 relaxed the ban, allowing export of some selective categories of raw jute like machine processed cut fibre (10-120 mm), jute sliver and jute tote. But the export ban on other categories of raw jute remained effective since then.
"Due to shortage of raw jute at the moment, many jute mills in Nepal are forced to curtail their production leaving around twenty thousand workers unemployed," the embassy of Nepal in Dhaka said in a recent letter to the ministry of foreign affairs. Nepal needs approximately 20,000 tonnes of raw jute until July next for the existing jute mills for resumption of their production, it noted.
Earlier in late January, a Nepalese business delegation met Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed at his secretariat office in Dhaka and also requested him to lift the ban.
First vice-president of the Morang Chamber of Industries in Nepal Mukesh Upadhayaya in the meeting said some 12 big jute mills of the mountainous nation are on the verge of suspending their production following the ban on raw jute export.
He also said the jute industry in Nepal is dependent on raw jute from Bangladesh and India.
"The government of Nepal would be grateful if the request could be considered favourably for early resumption of the export of raw jute from Bangladesh to Nepal," the letter mentioned, requesting for immediate release of jute for which letters of credit were opened before imposing the ban.
Bangladesh has always been in a favourable position against Nepal in bilateral trade. In the fiscal year 2014-15 Bangladesh exported goods worth US$ 25.05 million while import from the Himalayan nation was $11.50 million.
Earlier, India and Pakistan on several occasions have requested for lifting the ban on export of raw jute saying that the 'obstruction' has been hurting the production of their jute mills.
Pakistan is a major importer of Bangladeshi raw jute which meets basic raw material needs of its jute industry from single country imports.
Officials said as part of its efforts to implement the mandatory jute packaging act, the government is carrying out drives across the country to promote use of jute sacks in the rice mills instead of plastic-made bags.
According to the government estimation, nearly 41 million pieces of jute sacks will be needed for 16,300 rice mills across the country which process 2.03 million tonnes of rice per month, if the jute packaging act can be enforced strictly.
Bangladesh is a key raw jute exporter in the world. The country's annual earning from the jute sector is $ 900 million, of which raw jute has 13 per cent stake, the Export Promotion Bureau data show.
On an average, Bangladesh annually exports 2.1 million bales of raw jute, out of its total production of 5.8 million bales. Some 3.8 million bales of jute are being consumed locally.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
