Shippers for declaring raw jute an agro-product

FE Report
The Shippers Council of Bangladesh (SCB) has urged the government to declare raw jute an agriculture product and raise the export subsidy on jute yarn to 10 per cent from 7.5 per cent.
They also called upon the government to pay immediately the Tk 2.5 billion in arrears to the jute traders before the start of raw jute purchase from July.    
Their demand came at a meeting with State Minister for Textiles and Jute Mirza Azam at his Secretariat office on May 8, 2014.
Chairman of the board of directors of SCB Md Rezaul Karim said they had a fruitful meeting with the state minister.
"We had a fruitful meeting with the state minister for textiles and jute. We hope the government will consider our proposals actively," he told the FE.
The other proposals the SCB put forward to the government include: inclusion of two persons from the SCB in the advisory committee on jute affairs, resolving the existing problems with the raw jute export, payment of arrears to jute traders, involving foreign missions in promoting export of raw jute and jute goods, full implementation of the jute packaging act and exemption of the jute sector from all kinds of Value Added Tax (VAT) and tax at source.
The state minister assured the SCB of resolving their problems.