FE Report

A large volume of quality raw jute is being exported from the country as 'rejected grade,' causing a crisis of the natural fibre for the local jute mills, insiders said.

According to them, traders are exporting an increased amount of high grade raw jute in the names of Bangla 'tossa' rejection (BTR) and Bangla white rejection (BWR), defying the official raw jute export guidelines.

"The country's jute millers are facing a supply shortage of the main raw material for running production mainly because of a significant rise in the export of raw jute as BTR and BWT," a jute mill operator told the FE.

Such an alarming increase in the export of quality raw jute is not only depriving the country of a large amount of foreign currency, but also causing a huge revenue loss to the government, the private jute millers said.

Referring to official figures, they said the shipments of both BTR and BWT accounted for only 28 per cent of the country's total raw jute export in 1998-'99 fiscal, but the rate increased to nearly 48 per cent in the last fiscal.

The price of raw jute has marked a steep rise in the domestic market primarily due to the spurt in the export of the 'rejected grades', industry sources said.

An unusual rise in the raw jute prices, which are now varying between Tk 1,200 and Tk 1,400 per maund in the local market, has pushed the production cost of the local jute mills significantly up.