The country’s export earnings from jute are expected to remain almost stagnant this fiscal year compared to that in the last fiscal year, as shows the export trend from July 2012 to March 2013.
Statistics also reveal that the value of export of jute goods, except for yarn and twine, over the last nine months of the fiscal remained much lower than what observed in the previous fiscal year.
The average values of jute goods exports by jute mills under Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation and Bangladesh Jute Mills Association declined by 2.48 per cent and 6.27 per cent respectively in the first nine months of the current fiscal year compared to the average value of the total exports in the previous fiscal year.
Although the average value of yarn and twine exports by mills under
Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association increased by about 12 per cent in the first nine months compared to the average value of the total export in the previous fiscal year, the quantity of yarn and twine exports over the first nine months of the fiscal year 2012-13 remained much lower than the previous fiscal year.
The export quantity of yarn and twine by mills under the BJSA stood at 4,58,210 tonnes in the last fiscal year, whereas the quantity of the exports until March of the current fiscal year stood at only 2,96,100 tonnes, showed the statistics provided by the Bangladesh Jute Mills Association.
Talking to the UNB, BJMA secretary A Barik Khan said, ‘The export earnings from the jute goods manufactured in both public and private mills only stood at Tk 4,221.48 crore until March this fiscal year. The earning last fiscal year was Tk 5,355.82 crore. So no significant change is on board.’
‘Rather, the value of the exports has decreased. The mills under BJMC and BJMA are exporting more in quantity compared to the previous fiscal year, but earning less per unit product,’ he said.
According to the April 2013 issue of the Jute Matters, a monthly publication of Dhaka-based International Jute Study Group, the export price of raw jute in Bangladesh declined sharply during the fiscal year 2011-2012 because of a fund crisis for jute procurement faced by local traders and industries which might in turn pulled down the jute prices in local market as well as in export market.
Barik of BJMA said the government needed to facilitate the jute goods exporters with some incentives similar to those offered to the exporters of the readymade garments, frozen food and leather goods in order to facilitate growth in the jute goods exports.
Earlier, on April 16, the jute and textiles ministry sent a letter to the finance ministry with recommendation to facilitate the jute goods exporters with the provision of current capital loans on 7 per cent interest from commercial and specialised banks, as like the export cash credit offered to the leather goods exporters.
The recommendation also include creation of a blocked account to keep previous loans (until June 30, 2011) and their five years’ interests owed by private jute goods manufacturers, and allowing them to start repaying the amount after 30 months of the creation of the BA at an 8 per cent interest rate within the next 10 years.
-With New Age input
