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Jute goods makers cut export prices to lure in buyers

Suman Saha
Jute product manufacturers have slashed down the export price to counter the sluggish demand in the global market.
The average price of jute products fell by 7.92 percent year-on-year to $1.03 per kilogram in the July-October period of 2012.
Bangladesh, which exports jute and jute products to 118 countries, has been witnessing positive growth in exports, said Najmul Huq, chairman of Bangladesh Jute Mills Association (BJMA), as "many manufacturers are now selling at lower prices”.
At present, 100 jute sacks are selling at $95-$ 100, which was $ 105 last year, according to Huq.
The BJMA chairman added that a steady export growth is being witnessed recendy due to "a rise of volume”.
Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation, which has 22 state-jute mills
in operation, also saw positive growth on jute product exports in terms of volume and value during the last several months, said Major General Humayun Khaled, chairman of BJMC.
“Bangladesh exported 6.5 lakh tonnes of jute goods against the world demand for around 8 lakh tonnes a year,” said Shahidul Karim, secretary of Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association.
Bangladesh exported 245.90 million kg of jute products worth $253.28 million in the first four months of fiscal 2012-13, up from the 210.42 million kg worth $245.84 million recorded for the same period last year, according to data compiled by Bangladesh Bank.
Raw jute and jute product exports rose by 1.01 percent year-on-year to $414.45 million in the July-November period of this fiscal year, data from the Export Promotion Bureau showed.
However, demand for jute yarn
has been showing a downward trend as many jute importing countries are suffering from either recession or political instability.
"Several factors such as the US sanction against Iran, the unrest in Syria and the instability in some other Middle Eastern and African markets are hampering the jute and jute product exports,” Karim said.
Md Mahfuzul Hoque, chairman of Bangladesh Jute Association, said the price of raw jute is on the slide.
The average raw jute price fell by 5.37 percent year-on-year to $0.53 per kg in the July-October period of current fiscal year, according to official data.
"We are incurring losses due to purchases of raw jute at higher prices from jute cultivators,” said Hoque.
A maund (40 kg) of raw jute is now selling at Tk 1,200-Tk 1,400 against the purchase price of Tk 2,200-Tk2,400, he added.