To promote the use of jute bags for packaging foodstuff and agricultural produce, the Ministry of Textiles and Jute on Thursday issued a circular saying that it is mandatory for private rice mill owners to use 100 per cent jute bags for packaging under the Jute Packaging Law. The circular, signed by a joint secretary of the ministry, also instructed the Ministry of Food (MOF) for 100 per cent use of jute bags for packaging paddy, rice and wheat. Fertiliser factories, the Sugar and Food Corporation, as well as private sugar mills were directed to use jute bags for 50 per cent of their products. The ministry issued the circular following submission of a set of recommendations made by a committee formed by the ministry to find ways to implement the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act 2010. The circular is to be notified in the official gazette. In October, 2010, Parliament passed the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act to help promote use of jute
bags. The gazette notification on the rules related to the Act was published on June 3. A circular said that the rules would be implemented within 60 days of the gazette notification.
According to the Act, jute bags will have to be used for packaging paddy, rice, wheat, maize, fertiliser and sugar. The committee also recommended bringing private food grains traders under the Act gradually.
The member mills, the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) and the Bangladesh Jute Mills Association (BJMA) will supply the bags on a 50:50 basis, said the circular, adding that in the case of maize packaging, 100 per cent jute bags have to be used.
Private millers said that with the joint efforts of the BJMA and the BJMC they would be able to supply the bags to meet the demand after maintaining overseas sales, said BJMA secretary A. Barik Khan. “If the Act is implemented, use of jute bags will increase several times,” Khan added.
About seven million bales of jute are produced in the country every year. Of these, some 4.5-5 million bales are usually required for the local jute industry and the rest are exported. A total of 212 jute mills are currently operational in Bangladesh. Of them, 21 are run by the government and the rest by private owners, said officials.
The local consumption of jute sacks stands at around 250 million pieces, both in the public and private sectors, a year for packaging products, according to the committee report. The total demand for jute bags in packaging paddy, rice, wheat, maize, fertiliser and sugar is around 450 million pieces a year.
According to the committee report, private rice millers will use 150 million pieces of jute bags a year, against their demand for 300 million pieces. Fertiliser factories will use 25 million pieces, against the demand for 50 million, while the food department will use 45 million pieces and maize traders 40 million. Besides, sugar mills will use around one million pieces, against their requirement of 2.1 million.
Jute millers, however, said that they have sufficient products to meet the total demand. Moreover, after meeting the local and overseas demand, around 325.65 million pieces of jute bags will remain unsold as the production capacity of private and public mills stands at 1.01 billion pieces a year.
The local sales by these mills were around 101.74 million pieces in 2012-13 and 334 million pieces were exported. If the authorities concerned ensure 100 cent per cent use of jute bags, the sector will flourish, they said.
The legislation, sources said, is aimed at boosting the use of jute bags instead of polythene or polypropylene ones for packaging goods like foodstuff and agricultural produce. The absence of rules hindered implementation of the guidelines enshrined in the Jute Policy 2011 for augmenting the use of environment-friendly jute products at home and abroad, said textiles and jute ministry officials.
Once the Jute Packaging Act is implemented, industry people feel it will pave the way for increased use of jute sack. The circular, they said, would ensure a fair price for jute and thus encourage growers to increase production.
-With The Independent input
