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ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Jute bounces back

Sayeda Akter
The quiet and soft-spoken CEO of Creation Private Ltd had a dream. She wanted to revive the 'golden fibre' to its previous glory.
After joining the company in 2006 as the chief executive, Rubaiya Farhana promptly started researching for demand and trends in the market for the natural fibre in Europe.
"I think it is a must for an export oriented company to keep an eye on the demand and growth trends in potential markets, which will lead that market in the near future. We do it on a daily basis," she says.
" Otherwise, I would simply not be able to sell my products in those markets, and neitherbesuch abig exporter."
In addition, Rubaiya has to monitor all the major tasks: from preparing designs, setting up a manufacturing line, procuring raw jute from local jute millers, to processing finished products.
The hard work paid off.
The company is now the third largest exporter of diversified jute products in Bangladesh. Creation won the HSBC Export Excellence Award 2009 under the SME (small and medium enterprise) category.
At present, the company exports 1,300 varieties of jute bags to the European market, except Portugal. The company's turnover stands at nearly Tk 21 crore a year.
In a country where jute was once the main foreign exchange earner and was called the 'golden fibre', it started loosing its shine mainly in the '80s due to a lack of government policy and declining global demand.
Later, jute started gaining popularity as an eco-friendly fabric in the west and local manufacturers started diversifying the products made from jute.
Local jute goods exporters brought in $377.09 million in July-April, a sharp increase of around 70 percent from the same period a year ago.
When Creation was established in 1997, it used to produce only handmade paper, most of which was used to make gift cards for both the local market and for export. It was a hit mainly among the urban youth and people who chose products for their aesthetic appeal.
In 2000, when the company started producing bags made of jute, the main aim was to bring back jute from mired production,
says Rubaiya.
The mastermind behind this venture was Rashidul Karim Munna, managing director of the company and Rubaiya's husband. With nothing but a strong will to succeed and out of the box ideas, he gave it ago.
Starting out with only five workers, the couple now heads a family of535 members under the Creation team. They workfor 9-10 months a year, constantly weaving the path to becoming one of the biggest exporters of jute goods in Bangladesh.
The company produces a wide range of handbags for both for men and women, files, folders and shopping bags.
Apart from handbags, Creation exports
around 50,000 shopping bags a month to Germany, Italy and France.
"I believe Bangladesh has every chance to strengthen its foothold in the billiondollar shopping bag market," Munna says.
"We could easily double our production and exports if we got proper government support.”
But there are problems in the sector too.
Munna says local bag makers buy jute fabric from the domestic market at higher prices than what foreign importers pay for the same to buy from Bangladesh — a setback that makes the local industry less competitive than rivals in India, the main importer of the jute fabric.
“When we buy the jute fabric, the jute mills addthesumof export incentives to the cost of the fabric, as they don't get any incentives when they sell to us,” Munna says.
“Unlike India, jute bag makers in Bangladesh do not get export incentives."
“It is sad that even after buying raw materials from Bangladesh, India can sell shopping bags at lower prices," he adds. A shopping bag sells at $ 1.
Despite odds, the company is being compelled to expand capacity for growing orders. The couple plans to increase operations soon.
sayeda@thedailystar.net