Farmers getting better prices for raw jute

Yasir Wardad | Published: July 29, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

Farmers are getting better prices for their raw jute as the cash crop has started arriving in the market.
Early harvesters in Pabna, Rangpur, Rajbari, Kushtia and Faridpur districts are making profits by selling Tosa variety at Tk 1500-1700 and Desi at Tk 1000-1150 per maund (40 kg), farmers said.
Md Jahurul Hoque, a farmer-cum-trader at Bashgram Bazar under Kumarkhali in Kushtia told the FE that new jute of Tosa variety is being sold at Tk 1500-1600 per maund which was Tk 1300-1350 in the corresponding period of last year.
He said prices of jute declined to just Tk 1100-1200 in the peak harvesting period last year but started increasing from October last when farmers already sold out their crops.
Md Mokhlesur Rahman, a farmer of the Teesta Barrage area in Nilphamari Sadar said Desi variety of jute is being sold at Tk1000-1150 for last seven days in his area.
He said the price is showing a good trend this year compared to that of last year when prices of Desi variety fell to just Tk700-800 per maund.
He informed that jute acreage in his village has declined this year significantly which is also causing a hike in price.
"We hardly got back our investment last year by selling jute sticks," he said.
However, newly-harvested jute in Faridpur, the biggest jute hub in the sub-continent, is being sold at Tk1650-1700 per maund.
Older jute of last year was also available at different places in Faridpur, which were being sold at Tk2100-2200 per maund, sources said.
    But land under jute has declined this year indicating to a plunge in yield of the key agri exportable item.
Jute acreage declined to 0.65 million hectares this year against a target of 0.753 million hectares. The production target has been set at 7.6 million bales this year, according to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE).
Jute was cultivated in 0.672 million hectares in 2014 when production was 7.5 million bales.
The golden fibre cultivated in 0.803 million hectares in 2011 when production was at an all- time high of 8.4 million bales (bale=180+ kg), according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
According to DAE data, jute acreage declined by 0.131 million hectares in last five years (between 2011 and 2015).
Director of Cash Crop Wing (Jute) under DAE Md Mizanur Rahman said price deprivation for years, irregular rain and lack of water bodies for retting jute are key reasons behind the plunge in acreage.
He said the government has made it mandatory for rice and other traders to use jute sacks and bags but the law is yet to be enforced.
He said full-fledged implementation of the mandatory jute packaging act can ensure maximum use of jute which ultimately will benefit both the farmers and the traders.
The local demand for jute will increase with the implementation of the law, he said.
However, despite a depression in the global market, jute and jute goods exports achieved a 5.3 per cent growth in the just concluded financial year (FY'15).
The local exporters fetched US$ 868 million from jute exports in FY'15 which was $824 million in FY'14, according to the state-run Export Promotion Bureau.
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