The government wants to earn more foreign currency by turning jute into the highest value-added products rather than exporting it raw, Textiles and Jute Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir said on Saturday while opening the exhibition centre of the Jute Diversification Promotion Centre (JDPC) at Farmgate in Dhaka. Packaging, blended fibre and other high-value products are a priority alongside wider uses of jute, he said.
By the minister's figures, a tonne of raw jute fetched about Tk 150,000, or around $1,200, at last year's market peak. Turned into packaging products, the same jute could be worth $2,400 to $2,500 a tonne, and blended with cotton or another fibre it could reach $4,000 to $4,500 or even $5,000 a tonne. Value addition is low for raw jute and sliver and rises at the later stages.
The government wants sectors other than ready-made garments, including jute, to grow, he said, and a permanent showroom has opened to promote diversified jute goods to local buyers and introduce them to foreign ones. Many products are machine-made, but a number are handmade and are growing as cottage industries.
Asked about jute-based polythene and the export of diversified products, the minister said a plan is being drawn up with JDPC and private sector associations, aimed at maximum value addition. Work is under way to establish how much jute is produced and how much can go into which value-added uses, and results will take some time, he said.
This report is based on reporting by a Banglanews24 senior correspondent.
Photo: Mahinur11 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Banglanews24
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