Jute Packaging Act still at low threshold (Bangladesh)

Despite the fact that the demand for jute products in both national and international markets gains momentum, the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act 2010 is yet to be implemented properly even four years after the act came into being, discussants said yesterday at a roundtable in the city.

They observed that the implementation of the act is not up to the mark to make the industry viable.

The observation came at a roundtable discussion jointly organised by the Jute Protection Committee and ActionAid at the National Press Club in the city.

The stakeholders and businessmen who attended the programme called into question the poor implementation procedure which is a bar to the sustainability of jute industry.

More subsidiaries are needed to mobilise the sector as the demands for jute products are on the rise nationally and internationally, the discussants pointed out.

In his address at the roundtable, ActionAid Deputy Director Aamanur Rahman appreciated the jute act.

He said this is high time the authorities concerned paid the highest attention to once golden fiber of Bangladesh as the European market turns to the environmentally friendly jute products.

In his speech, Khondaker Golam Moazzem, a researcher from Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said every year the demand for jute products is rising at the rate of 7% worldwide.

He suggested making a long-term plan to bring in success in jute industry.

Most participants at the discussion advocated for reduction of the production costs of the jute-based products to make the industry more competitive and sustainable.

Director of Marketing Babul Chandra Roy of Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) confirmed that they are trying their best to implement the act.

He deplored the fact that rice and sugar mills are reluctant to use jute sacks. Babul called upon the private sectors to come up with initiatives.

He said nowadays China seems disinterested in the jute sector and so Bangladesh can cash in on the situation.

State Minister for Textile and Jute Mirza Azam was present at the roundtable.

He said the Awami League government wants to promote the jute industry and it is concentrating on quick implementation of the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act.

The state minister admitted that the implementation of the act was at a slow pace in the past, but said now the government is trying to do its best.

“We have already ordered the district commissioners across the country to set up mobile courts at regular intervals and take legal action if anyone violets the act.”

During 80s and 90s most jute factories in the country were shut following the prescription of World Bank and IMF, but Bangladesh has recently decided to regain the lost glory of its golden fiber, Jute.