The government appears, of late, to be tough and, thus, considering to go for hard action in order to compel the country's millers and traders to use the environment-friendly jute sacks to pack rice for domestic marketing.
Last week, the Department of Jute, under the ministry of jute and textiles, conducted a drive through mobile courts in Dhaka, Jamalpur and Khulna to ensure compliance with the law. The courts fined some rice millers there. The law provides that the violators would be imposed a fine up to Tk 50,000 and also be sentenced to three months in prison.
The Mandatory Jute Packaging Act, to mention, was enacted in 2010 to promote the use of environment-friendly jute goods, instead of polythene or polypropylene bags. It provides for bringing initially products such as rice, paddy, wheat, sugar, seeds, fertiliser and saplings within its purview. Gradually, other manufacturers are to be brought under its domain in order to making them use packaging materials made of jute fibre, up to, at least, 75 per cent. The initiative was taken more than two decades after India had enacted a similar rule to encourage domestic uses of jute goods. India uses jute in bulk for internal consumption.
On its part, the government stated that a lot of time was given to the millers for voluntary compliance with the law. Even motivational campaigns continued for a long period of six months. All-out cooperation from all relevant agencies was sought repeatedly for proper enforcement of the law. As the millers failed to cooperate, a hard line on the matter is being taken now. There is no way for the government, as the latest developments indicate, to retract from this position.
Very recently, the Supreme Court reinstated a government decision that directed rice millers and traders to use compulsorily jute sacks for packaging the staple rice. The country's apex court issued the order after the High Court stayed the effectiveness of the government notification last month following a writ petition by some rice millers.
Highlighting this issue, a contemporary reported this week that there was otherwise no enforcement of the law that parliament had earlier enacted. There are polyethylene and polypropylene everywhere and hardly anybody finds usage of jute in packaging products for the domestic market. Had the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act been enforced strictly, it would have created demand for 1.5 million bales of jute in the domestic market alone and could thereby help avert the present situation about sluggish jute prices.
However, businesses do, by and large, remain non-compliant, citing reasons like higher costs of jute sacks compared to those of poly-propylene or plastic bags and also other problems in branding. Millers said the burden for compliance with the law will lately be passed on to the consumers in the form of higher rice prices.
The government termed such issues as excuses for non-compliance. It said the millers have been giving such excuses for a long time. There is no reason as to why the people will be adversely affected by the law. If it happens, the government will definitely change it. Increased domestic uses of jute have now become all the more important to help save the country's ailing jute sector. It is now a question of survival of jute growers and sustenance of the country's jute industry, it maintained.
The jute industry, which involves about 4.0 million farmers and 150,000 workers, has been suffering from a nagging downturn in export earnings owing to the political crisis in the Middle East and a slump in demand in Africa, Thailand and India. The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data reveal that export receipts fell 20 per cent year-on-year to $824 million in fiscal 2013-14.
The lingering decline has continued during this fiscal as well, with export earnings dropping 24 per cent year-on-year to $61 million in the opening month of fiscal 2014-15. Three-fourths of the domestically-produced jute are reportedly exported in raw or processed forms in the absence of domestic demand.
Analysts believe that the use of jute sacks for packaging by local millers and traders is expected to have a favourable impact on efforts to help the sector withstand the downfall in global demand. The public and private jute mills have the capacity of producing more than 1.0 billion pieces of jute sacks a year. Yet they are, at present, making only 4.0-5.0 million pieces of sacks a year, according to an estimate of the Bangladesh Jute Mills Association (BJMA).
Also, the compulsory use of jute for packaging food grains is expected to create an additional demand for 5.0 million pieces of jute sacks a year. At present, government agencies such as the Directorate General of Food, the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation and the Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation are using jute sacks for packaging.
Many believe an increase in the use of jute for packaging will reduce demand for polythene bag-based packaging, which harms the country's environment. An advisory committee, formed in this connection, suggested that a certain percentage of jute sacks should be prescribed for mandatory packaging on the basis of annual jute production in the country.
The fact remains that the country is yet to tap the full potential of its eco-friendly and biodegradable jute fibre for packaging of commercial and industrial commodities. If the government can effectively enforce the law, the internal demand for jute will surge. This will, in turn, leave a positive impact on the economy. What is needed now is ensuring the enforcement of the law, as far as the millers and the traders are concerned. However, the consumers need also to accept eco-friendly jute sacks with an open heart, for the country's well-being.
szkhan@dhaka.net
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