Money laundering thru' raw jute export deals under scrutiny

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S M Jahangir
A huge amount of foreign currencies have reportedly been laundered abroad from the country by a section of dishonest raw jute traders through underhanded export deals.
The sector insiders said many exporters are involved in such illegal money transfer in the form of under-invoicing.
According to them, these dishonest traders often export high quality raw jute to different destinations in the name of low graded or rejected items in their vested interest.
Following such illegal practices, the Ministry of Textile and Jute in a meeting Tuesday formed a high-profile committee to probe the matter, a meeting source told the FE.
Chaired by the secretary of the Textile and Jute Ministry, the meeting was attended by representatives from the private jute industry, its trade bodies and senior officials from various government agencies concerned.
Headed by a joint secretary of the jute ministry, the committee also comprises senior officials from Ministry of Agriculture, Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation, Bangladesh Jute Mills Association, Bangladesh Jute Research Institute (BJRI), Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute, Department of Agriculture Extension, and Department of Jute.
The committee has been given a month for submitting its report to the jute ministry.
The committee is expected to scrutinise the existing grading systems of exportable jute, their export prices and suspicious trade deals, the source mentioned.
When contacted, a source said there has been an unusual rise in export deals of rejected raw jute mainly because of the 'underhand' dealings.
'Normally, three to four per cent of the country's total raw jute output being rejected is justifiable, but the percentage has increased sharply to range between 25 per cent and 40 per cent as far as the export deals are concerned,' said the source, preferring anonymity.
Bangladesh produced about 6.3 million bales of raw jute during the last cropping season, the source said, adding the country's raw jute exports stood at nearly 2.45 million bales during the last fiscal year.
On the other hand, the local jute mills consumed the remaining volume of raw jute for continuing their production activities.
However, the meeting Tuesday also decided to expand cultivation of jute to the country's Hill Tracts regions, especially for increasing the supply of quality seeds at the local level.
The decision was taken against the backdrop of an acute shortage of quality jute seeds prevailing in the country over the last few years.
Currently, about 1500 tonnes of jute seeds are available at the local level against the country's demand for 4,000 tonnes in a cropping season.
As a result, the country has no other option but to use substandard foreign jute seeds, sources said, adding that more than 2,500 tonnes of jute seeds inter Bangladesh from India every year through both formal and informal channels.
About 0.5 to 0.6 million hectares of land come under jute cultivation every season, the sources mentioned.