Anisul Islam Noor :
The traders are ignoring the mandatory use of jute in packaging, arguing short supply of jute to make bags.
The business insider said, some traders are highlighting the problem from their intention of avoiding jute bags. They said, the production and the supply of jute are adequate for packaging.
Initially the use of jute sacks was made mandatory for packaging six items such as rice, paddy, wheat, maize, fertiliser and sugar n 2013 under the MJPA, according to the Department of Jute (DoJ).
Later on January 24, 2017 the government brought 11 more essentials under the MJPA. The items were onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, coriander, chilli, pulse, potato, flour, atta and paddy husk.
A total of 17 essential commodities have so far come under the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act (MJPA 2010).
The sluggish implementation of the MJPA hampers the government’s plan to ensure maximum use of raw jute domestically to encourage farmers to cultivate jute, say sector insiders.
After visiting some major wholesale and adjacent retail markets in the city, the reporter found that rice, wheat and potato traders are implementing the Act partially. But in packaging most of the other products, jute was not being used.
It was observed that few shops only packet onion and spices in jute sacks in the wholesale markets like Karwan Bazar and Shyambazar in the city. Almost all onion and ginger were packaged in plastic nets, which are not biodegradable.
Md. Ruhul Amin, an onion trader of Karwan Bazar, said that onion in the market is now imported. The big importers in Chittagong and Shyambazar in Dhaka do not use local jute sacks in packaging the imported products, he has said.
Same is the case with other imported products like garlic, ginger, coriander and pulses, he said.
The government should ensure the mandatory use of jute sacks in packaging at the import level.
One of the leading importers at the city’s Shyambazar wholesale market Narayan Chandra Saha told that some of the businesses started packaging onion in jute sacks. But he said traders were not interested as it could cause a surge in prices of the products.
He said onion traders would need nearly 20 million sacks annually for packaging 2.2 million tonnes of products.
Md Abul Bashar Munshi, a leading spice trader in Faridpur region, said farmers and traders at the village level in the country were not yet aware of the law.
“On the other hand, many traders are not getting sacks despite offering higher prices as rice traders are grabbing most of those,” he said.
The traders would use jute sacks if they get these at government-fixed rates (Tk 50 and Tk 70 per piece), he said.
According to the Directorate of Jute (DoJ), the annual demand for jute sacks was 800 million pieces in 2016. Of them, rice and paddy packaging required 350 million.
The demand surged by 275 million pieces to 1,075 million in 2017 after inclusion of 11 more products in the list, an official of the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) said.
He said 10.0 million tonnes of onion, pulse, flour and atta are traded and at least 150 million sacks are required annually for them. However, he said though potato was not under the law earlier, 80 per cent of the item was still being packaged in jute sacks.
He said state-run jute mills and private mills under Bangladesh Jute Mills Association (BJMA) have a capacity to deliver maximum 65 million pieces per month.
“We have now a supply shortage after inclusion of new products in the list,” he said.
He said that productivity of 220 jute mills should be raised at least by 10 per cent to meet the demand, he said.
BJMA Chairman Shams-uz Zoha said that the government monitoring should be strengthened to ensure proper implementation of the law. He said raw jute export to India and other countries should be restricted to ensure smooth supply of the natural fibre to local mills.
Poultry and fish feed should also be brought under the MJPA to increase the use of jute in packaging, he said.
Jute millers, who make sacks, will need 4.5 million bales (180 kg=1 bale) of raw jute annually, when 3.5 million bales were available in 2016, he said. However, the country produces 7.5 million bales of jute annually, of which the spinners consume 3.8-4.0 million bales.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, the country fetched US $919 million from jute and jute goods exports in the fiscal year 2015-16 with a growth of 6.0 per cent over its previous fiscal.
The traders are ignoring the mandatory use of jute in packaging, arguing short supply of jute to make bags.
The business insider said, some traders are highlighting the problem from their intention of avoiding jute bags. They said, the production and the supply of jute are adequate for packaging.
Initially the use of jute sacks was made mandatory for packaging six items such as rice, paddy, wheat, maize, fertiliser and sugar n 2013 under the MJPA, according to the Department of Jute (DoJ).
Later on January 24, 2017 the government brought 11 more essentials under the MJPA. The items were onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, coriander, chilli, pulse, potato, flour, atta and paddy husk.
A total of 17 essential commodities have so far come under the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act (MJPA 2010).
The sluggish implementation of the MJPA hampers the government’s plan to ensure maximum use of raw jute domestically to encourage farmers to cultivate jute, say sector insiders.
After visiting some major wholesale and adjacent retail markets in the city, the reporter found that rice, wheat and potato traders are implementing the Act partially. But in packaging most of the other products, jute was not being used.
It was observed that few shops only packet onion and spices in jute sacks in the wholesale markets like Karwan Bazar and Shyambazar in the city. Almost all onion and ginger were packaged in plastic nets, which are not biodegradable.
Md. Ruhul Amin, an onion trader of Karwan Bazar, said that onion in the market is now imported. The big importers in Chittagong and Shyambazar in Dhaka do not use local jute sacks in packaging the imported products, he has said.
Same is the case with other imported products like garlic, ginger, coriander and pulses, he said.
The government should ensure the mandatory use of jute sacks in packaging at the import level.
One of the leading importers at the city’s Shyambazar wholesale market Narayan Chandra Saha told that some of the businesses started packaging onion in jute sacks. But he said traders were not interested as it could cause a surge in prices of the products.
He said onion traders would need nearly 20 million sacks annually for packaging 2.2 million tonnes of products.
Md Abul Bashar Munshi, a leading spice trader in Faridpur region, said farmers and traders at the village level in the country were not yet aware of the law.
“On the other hand, many traders are not getting sacks despite offering higher prices as rice traders are grabbing most of those,” he said.
The traders would use jute sacks if they get these at government-fixed rates (Tk 50 and Tk 70 per piece), he said.
According to the Directorate of Jute (DoJ), the annual demand for jute sacks was 800 million pieces in 2016. Of them, rice and paddy packaging required 350 million.
The demand surged by 275 million pieces to 1,075 million in 2017 after inclusion of 11 more products in the list, an official of the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) said.
He said 10.0 million tonnes of onion, pulse, flour and atta are traded and at least 150 million sacks are required annually for them. However, he said though potato was not under the law earlier, 80 per cent of the item was still being packaged in jute sacks.
He said state-run jute mills and private mills under Bangladesh Jute Mills Association (BJMA) have a capacity to deliver maximum 65 million pieces per month.
“We have now a supply shortage after inclusion of new products in the list,” he said.
He said that productivity of 220 jute mills should be raised at least by 10 per cent to meet the demand, he said.
BJMA Chairman Shams-uz Zoha said that the government monitoring should be strengthened to ensure proper implementation of the law. He said raw jute export to India and other countries should be restricted to ensure smooth supply of the natural fibre to local mills.
Poultry and fish feed should also be brought under the MJPA to increase the use of jute in packaging, he said.
Jute millers, who make sacks, will need 4.5 million bales (180 kg=1 bale) of raw jute annually, when 3.5 million bales were available in 2016, he said. However, the country produces 7.5 million bales of jute annually, of which the spinners consume 3.8-4.0 million bales.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, the country fetched US $919 million from jute and jute goods exports in the fiscal year 2015-16 with a growth of 6.0 per cent over its previous fiscal.
