India has again reminded Bangladesh of complying with the mandatorily marking country of origin in exported jute bags, officials said.
"This stipulation is often violated and imports of jute bags without bearing any mark of the country of origin, thereby, find their way into the Indian market," the High Commission of India in Dhaka said in a recent letter to the foreign ministry.
A copy of the letter is also sent to the ministry of commerce (MoC) for necessary actions.
The high commission requested the ministry to inform the Bangladeshi exporters about the stipulation for compliance.
The letter said that the office of the jute commissioner in India, in a notification in October 2001, made it mandatory for the marking of country of origin while entering jute bags in its market from abroad.
A senior commerce official told the FE that it is a longstanding issue. "In most cases, Bangladeshi exporters follow the rule. May be some are not following it. We will again inform the exporters about the issue through the jute ministry."
He, however, said Bangladeshi exporters found the mandatory marking of country of origin to be a non-tariff barrier to create obstacles in exporting jute bags from Bangladesh.
Bangladeshi exporters feel that the additional marking on the body of the jute bags puts extra burden on them and also increases production cost, he noted.
Another senior trade official said Bangladesh had several times requested India to withdraw the provision of mandatory marking of country of origin on jute bags as it created barrier to exports.
"But India did not honour our request, rather insisted that instead of stitching labels Bangladeshi manufacturers can opt for printing the required words on every bag, which will reduce the cost," he said.
He said India claimed that the mandatory marking on the jute bags is not an NTB since it applies for all.
Contacted, managing director of Janata Jute Mills Ltd Najmul Huq told the FE Thursday that Indian jute mills owners do not want to see Bangladeshi jute bags enter to their market. "That's why, they follow various tactics and create barriers like mandatory marking of sourcing country in each jute bags," he said.
He said Indian traders import jute bags from Bangladesh to supply those for food packaging.
"When Indians see foods are packed in a bag having 'made in Bangladesh' mark, they think the foods inside the bags are also made in Bangladesh and they do not show interest to buy foods. That's why, the traders do not want marking of sourcing country in the bags."
Bangladesh annually exports around 70,000 tonnes of jute goods to India, according to available data.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
