Bangladesh Central bank are reluctant to give jute millers loan from Export Development Fund (EDF) fund for import of capital machinery as it will impair the purpose of the fund and squeeze the number of beneficiary despite jute mills persistently pressing the bank for support from the EDF fund.
With demand for Bangladesh jute products gaining momentum in both national and international markets, the Jute Protection Committee shows concern over the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act 2010 not yet implemented properly even four years after the act came into being.
They observed that the implementation of the act is not up to the mark to make the industry viable. More subsidiaries are needed to mobilise the sector as the demands for jute products are on the rise nationally and internationally.
The Ministry of Textiles and Jute at a number of meetings highlighted the urgency for refinancing the jute millers and urged the Bangladesh Bank to introduce the block account facilities to the millers to keep the sector stable.
Bangladesh Bank (BB) to help private jute millers and exporter overcome the acute liquidity crisis which put most of mills in dreadful straits has directed the commercial banks to provide "Block Account" loan facilities.
The state-owned jute mills in Khulna-Jessore industrial belt has registered a sharp fall in export of jute goods by 38.65 percent in the just concluded fiscal year compared to its preceding fiscal due to lack of demand in global market, over the political instability in major importing countries.
According to Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC), about 31,647-tonne jute goods was exported from nine state-run jute mills of the region till the first week of June in the fiscal 2013-14, against the export of 81,881-tonne in the fiscal 2012-13.
Bangladesh is expecting better jute production this season despite a shortfall in the farming target, as the plants are growing excellent in northern districts. As farmers have started adopting the latest line sowing jute technology using seeder machines saving huge seed and reducing farming costs and ribbon-retting method to get quality fibre and more profit.
