Jute Matters Web

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Jute Matters

1. Natural Fibres: Critical Phase

Natural fibres are mainly bio-based fibres of vegetable and animal origin. Jute is a naturalfibre second only to cotton in terms of global production. The table-1 shows the estimated

global production volume averages of different natural fibres. Figure-1 gives a comparative

idea about the Global Fibre Scenario Natural Vs Manmade Fibres (MMF). It is observed

that Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in case of manmade fibres (MMF) is higher

indicating a growing higher market share for MMF. In 1990 the share of natural fibres and

MMF was 51% and 41% respectively while in 2007 it has been reversed. MMF appears to

have a steady growth but there are fluctuations in case of natural fibres. With the observance

of the International Year of Natural Fibres (IYNF)-2009 and the current year being celebrated

as International Year on Forests, and growing awareness about pollution free sustainable

environment it is high time to make a global concerted efforts to re-establish the natural

fibres in its earlier predominant position. This objective should become an integral part of

global efforts towards cutting down the pace of global warming.

GLOB

Fig-1: Global Fibre Scenario Natural Vs Manmade Fibres


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In order to realise the objectives of IYNF 2009 and to correctly position the natural fibres, the

natural fibre cultivation, the industry and the product mix needs to have a fresh strategic

approach through increased productivity, better industrial efficiency, product diversification

and development of effective supply chain and marketing mechanism to meet the demands of

eco-friendliness and sustainability in future. Revival of natural fibres faces one of the biggest

challenges from the growing global concerns for food security. IJSG, with its limited

resources, is working on the generic promotion of natural fibres through enhancing their

profiles along with sensitizing the stakeholders about the prospects of natural fibres lying

ahead. Reconciling the need for a sustainable development in the context of food security is

going to be the biggest challenge for natural fibre textile community.

Name of fibre Million Tons Main producing Countries

Cotton 25.00 China, USA, India, Pakistan

Jute 2.50 India, Bangladesh

Wool 2.20 Australia, China, New Zealand

Flax 0.50 China, France, Belgium

Kenaf 0.45 China, India, Thailand

Coir 0.45 India, Sri Lanka

Sisal 0.30 Brazil, China, Kenya

Ramie 0.15 China

Abaca 0.10 Philippines, Ecuador

Hemp 0.10 China

Silk 0.10 China, India

Henequen 0.03 Mexico

Kapok 0.03 Indonesia

Manmade cellulosic fibres 3.30 India, China

Table-1: Estimated global production volume averages of different natural fibres (in million

MT per year, average over the recent years).

Jute constitutes about 50% of the total global production of bast and hard fibres, a group of

fibre distinct from cotton (seed fibre), wool and silk (animal fibres) the later being primarily


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used for traditional textile applications like clothing, home textile and some other

applications (Fig.-2). Most of the bast (origin from plant stem) and hard fibres (origin from

other parts of a plant) are primarily used for non-clothing (technical textile) applications.

Fig.2: Bast and Hard Fibres Production Percentage

Apart from being themost important natural functional fibre jute is also important for

achieving the global objectives of poverty alleviation. It is grown in a region

(Bangladesh, India, Nepal, China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand) producing 63% of

natural fibers, having 49% of global population and consisting of 66% of world

multidimensional poor population (Fig.-3).


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Fig- 3: Production of Natural fibres (including cotton) in percentage terms

Cultivation of Raw Jute

2. Area under jute cultivation

On an average 1300-1400 thousand hectares (Ha) of land is now cultivated for growing jute,

kenaf and allied fibres in the major producing countries. In 2004-05 the jute cultivation area

in Bangladesh was 4, 65,400 Ha which increased to 4, 85,600 Ha in 2005-06 and to 5, 33,400

Ha in 2006-2007. The area, however, reduced to 4, 08,100 Ha in 2008-09 and in 2009-10 it

reached 4, 85,800 Ha, an increase of 19% from the previous year. The jute area in India was

9, 16,000 Ha in 2004-05 which rose to 9, 52,000 Ha in 2007-08 but decreased to 7, 73,700

Ha in 2009-10 (Fig.-4). The area of jute, kenaf and allied fibres in China, Myanmar, Nepal

and Thailand is shown in Table-2. In Thailand the acreage has reduced significantly which is

largely due to the discontinuation of use of Roselle (mesta) as raw material for making paper

by Phoenix Paper Mill since last few years. In China the acreage remains almost same. One

of the reasons of reduction of jute/kenaf growing area in Myanmar can be attributed to the

closure of some jute mills and preference of the farmers to grow cereals.


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Jute Area in Bangladesh and India

0

200000400000

600000

800000

1000000

2004/05

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

Year

'000ha Bangladesh

India

c

Fig-4: Jute Area in Bangladesh and India

Year / Country 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10

China 32.0 31.1 31.0 33.0 30.0 30.0

Myanmar 35.4 41.0 46.5 20.4 14.3 8.9

Nepal 11.8 12.2 12.0 11.7 11.6 11.6

Thailand 16.6 3.1 2.3 1.2 1.5 1.5

Table-2: Area of jute, kenaf and allied fibres in China, Myanmar, Nepal and Thailand (in

000Ha)

The increase and decrease of jute cultivation area is related to relative price of jute and food

crops, the prices of raw jute in the previous crop year apart from climatic aberrations in the

largely rain-fed areas under cultivation for these crops. Jute competes for land with food

crops such as paddy in Bangladesh and India and also other producing countries because of

increasing demand for food grains with increase of population and increasing consumption

levels. The cultivable land is diminishing in Bangladesh and India in absolute terms as well

because of housing and infrastructure projects. Pressure on cultivable land from food crops is


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going to be one of the biggest limiting factors for future expansion of jute, kenaf and allied

fibres.

3. Raw Jute Production

The statistics of world production of Jute, Kenaf and Allied fibres for the last 10 years shows

that it tends to be around 3 million MT a year with the lowest of 2405.95 thousand MT in

2004-05 and highest 3144.91 thousand MT in 2001-02 (Table-3). Global production and

production in major producing countries is given in Table-3. The recent production volume

in Bangladesh and India shows that the production is increasing indicating a sign of

encouragement to meet the stimulated demand in the world market (Fig.-5). The production

in Bangladesh shows a steady growth because of increasing trend of market price.

F

i g

.

5: Production of Jute, Kenaf &Allied Fibres in major producing countries

The fluctuations in the raw jute production in India can be attributed to decreased acreage

under jute cultivation on account of strikes in the jute mills and partly due to low productivity

and early floods. In China the yield per hectare is going down resulting in lower production

because the Chinese growers now tend to grow fibre crops in poorer soil and prefer to grow

cereals in better soil.

Table -3: World production of jute, kenaf and allied fibres (in '000 MT)

Total Jute, 2001- 2002- 2003- 2004- 2005- 2006- 2007-08 2008- 2009-10

Production of Jute, Kenaf & Allied Fibres

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

'000

ton

Bangladesh China India Nepal Thailand


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Kenaf 02 03 04 05 06 07 09

& Allied

Fibres:

World 3144.91 3084.93 2852.33 2405.95

2724.1

3 3021.1 2997.32 2596.6 2883.9

Bangladesh 924.7 793.3 963 810 965 990 990 931 1080

China 136.0 130.0 99.78 86.92 82.82 86.8 86.8 80.0 80.0

India 1890 1980 1620 1350 1530 1800 1782 1476 1620

Indonesia 10.2 6.8 7 7 7 3.1 4 3.8 3.8

Myanmar 50.8 41.9 42 33.63 36.89 43.6 19.1 12.9 8

Nepal 16.4 17 17.04 16.89 17.66 17.1 16.8 2.9 1.8

Thailand 56 46.37 41.33 35.66 4.6 3.6 2.2 2.9 1.8

Vietnam 14.6 20.5 12.5 14.2 15 10.6 31 8.8 9

Africa 12.5 12.4 12.7 13.2 13.19 13.29 13.29 13.3 13.3

Source: FAO statistics (June 2010)

Apart from climatic and market factors, non-availability of quality seed at the right time also

has adverse effect on fibre production. However, since 2009 the market price of raw jute in

the previous season is playing key role in jute production. Production in Bangladesh has gone

up to 1080 thousand MT in 2009-10, the highest in the last decade and an increase of 16%

from the previous year. The production in India has increased by about 10% in 2009-10

compared to 2008-09. World production has also increased in 2009-10 by about 12% from

the previous year (2008-09). The increased production is the outcome of higher price of jute

in the last two seasons compared to that of rice. This has generated quite a deal of enthusiasm

among the farmers to grow jute. In the context of the current situation it can be assumed that

in view of the previous price trends, farmers in both India and Bangladesh would prefer jute

cultivation and as a result jute cultivation area and jute production is likely to increase

significantly during the next crop.

4. Productivity of jute, kenaf and allied fibres

Per hectare yield in Bangladesh is almost unchanged since the last five years while in India it

has increased but still short of average yield in Bangladesh (Table-4). The yield in China is

much higher than those in Bangladesh and India while in Thailand it shows declining trend.

Productivity issue needs particular attention of the research institutes of the producing

countries as it holds the key to the higher production of fibre that can meet the increasing

demand.


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Table-4: Yield of jute, kenaf and allied fibres in major producing countries in MT / ha

Year/Country 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10

Bangladesh 1.93 2.34 2.22 2.47 2.28 2.22

India 1.47 1.64 1.93 1.87 1.88 2.09

China 2.72 2.66 2.80 2.63 2.67 2.67Myanmar 0.95 0.90 0.94 0.94 0.90 0.90

Nepal 1.43 1.45 1.43 1.43 1.47 1.47

Thailand 2.16 1.51 1.55 1.79 1.93 1.20

Availability of cultivable land is going to remain a limiting factor, hence increased

productivity through development of more productive races, multiplication and extension of

existing high yielding varieties is to be taken up as a mission in the producing countries

The high yielding varieties viz. O-9897, O-72 and O-795 developed by the Bangladesh Jute

Research Institute (BJRI) are cultivated by less than 50% of farmers because of unavailability

of sufficient quantity of seed of these varieties. If these varieties particularly O-795 could

have been used by all the farmers through out Bangladesh as per recommendations of BJRI,

the production would have increased by about 30%-50%. More than 50% of farmers use

Indian seed of variety JRO 524 a substantial part of which comes from India. Chances of

supply of spurious seeds through unofficial channels in the name of JRO 524 cannot be ruled

out.

In India tossa jute occupies about 90% of total acreage under jute and varieties like JRO-524,

JRO- 128 and JRO-8432 occupy maximum area. Although newly released varieties like JRO-

128, JRO-8432, JRO-204 have very high fibre yield potential of about 3-4 MT/Ha their rate

of adoption is very slow because of lack of assured availability during the sowing season.

Seed traders usually bank on assured market of old and established popular varieties. Thus

the current productivity level in India, too, is much below the yield potential of newly

released varieties. Through Jute Technology Mission, India is working on an ambitious seed

improvement program but the outcome of it is still to come out fully and reach the farmers.

It is also worthwhile to mention that recently jute Genome sequence has been decoded by Dr.

Maqsudul Alam, a Bangladeshi scientist working at the University of Hawaii, USA and as

Director, Institute of Chemical Biology, and University of Sains, Malaysia on a project

sponsored by the Government of Bangladesh. The work was done in collaboration with

Bangladesh Jute Research Institute (BJRI) and University of Dhaka. This is likely to facilitate

future development of varieties that will be pest resistant, suitable for growing in saline areas,


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drought and flood tolerant and may also produce fibres of higher strength and better colour.

Jute genome decoding can also facilitate the development of product-oriented fibres to be

used by the manufacturers to produce a variety of diversified jute products in future.

5. Seed requirement

India, Bangladesh, China, Nepal and Myanmar together require approximately 11,000 to

12,000 MT of seed annually for around 1300-1400 thousand Ha of land under jute

cultivation. Average land area for jute cultivation in Bangladesh is 5, 00,000 Ha and seed

requirement is around 4,500 MT of which about 1,000 MT are for capsularis, 500 MT for

kenaf, and 3,000 MT forolitorius varieties. Seeds ofcapsularis variety and a small amount

ofolitorius variety are locally grown by the individual farmers. Seeds of olitorius variety of

about 2,500-3,000 MT and about 500 MT of kenaf seed are imported from India. Bangladesh

Jute Research Institute (BJRI) produces the Breeder Seed whereas Bangladesh Agricultural

Development Corporation (BADC) is mandated for production and distribution / marketing

of certified and truthfully labelled seed (TLS). BADC has six contract growing zones wherein

about 600-700 MT of certified / TLS jute seeds are produced and has 100 sale outlets

throughout the country. Seeds are distributed / marketed through BADC appointed dealers

(about 1945) from 22 Regional Sale Centres on commission basis and from 78 other Sale

Centres (District and Upozilla Sale Centres) to the farmers directly at notified prices. Some

NGOs are also involved in jute seed production but their contribution is not significant. Thus

Bangladesh continues to be dependent on seeds produced in India and marketed by exporters

from India through traders in Bangladesh. Since a large part of this trade happens through

unofficial channels the mechanisms for supply of Truthfully Labelled Seeds or Certified

Seeds is not fully enforced.

To minimize the dependency of Bangladesh on imported seed which does not always

guarantee quality and timely supply, more farmers need to be encouraged to grow seed to

meet their own requirements. Some of these farmers can also take up jute seed production on

commercial basis like India.

In India about 8, 00,000-8, 50, 000 Ha of land is cultivated for jute and 1, 50,000-2, 00,000

Ha for mesta which requires about 5000 MT of jute and 2,500 MT of Mesta seeds. In India

Breeder Seed of jute and mesta are produced by Central Seed Research Station, a wing of


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Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres (CRIJAF). The seed producing agencies

like National Seed Corporation and State Seed Corporations arrange registered growers for

seed production. When the harvesting of seed is done, the seed certification agencies collect

samples for laboratory tests to provide certification.

Both public and private sectors in India handle production and marketing of jute seed. Public

sector organisations produce and market around 1,500 MT (about 30%) and private sector

companies supply around 3,000 MT of seed every year. Unorganised sector infuses the rest of

the quantity of seed in the market which include farmer saved seed and farmer-to-farmer

exchanges. Seed produced in the public sector in India is distributed to the farmers through

State Dept. of Agriculture while the seed produced in the private sector is distributed to the

farmers directly and partly through the State Dept. of Agriculture.

In India, jute is mainly cultivated in West Bengal and in some areas of Assam, Orissa and

Bihar but jute seed is grown primarily in Andhra Pradesh, Maharastra and Karnataka. The

Indian farmers like their counterparts in Bangladesh are also apprehensive of timely supply

and quality of seeds. Nepal, too, faces the same problem of seed shortage and procures seed

from India.National Seed Company of Nepal is the sole agency responsible for certified seed

production and distribution but the farmers are reluctant to procure improved seeds because

of high prics. Moreover, the demand for jute seed is decreasing due to shift of jute area into

rice cultivation.

IJSG has been projecting the importance of the issue on various occasions and has submitted

a project to CFC for funding on promotion of high yielding varieties of jute seed involving

Bangladesh, India and Nepal to address the issues like production and systematic distribution

of high yielding variety seeds so that the existing problems faced by the farmers are

adequately resolved. IJSG has a Centralised Germplasm Repository (CGR) established at

Bangladesh Jute Research Institute (BJRI), Dhaka to conserve jute, kenaf and allied bast

plant fibre Germplasm with a duplication of Germplasm in CSIRO, Canberra, Australia.

Scientists are working on the characterisation of the Germplasm to develop new varieties.

The dependence of Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar on Indian seeds is going to remain for

some time till efforts in these countries lead to self sufficiency in HYV seed production. IJSG

feels that the present scenario can be developed into a long term seed production programme

between the producing countries specially in Bangladesh and Nepal to create a win-win

situation for all through large-scale private sector investment in HYV seed production by

both indigenous and foreign investors. Some big seed growers in India have shown interest in


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investing for commercial production of seeds in Bangladesh itself if land is made available on

easy lease by the public or the private sources. Unfortunately jute sector is still to evolve the

model of organic linkages and symbiotic relationship between industry and farmers like

sugarcane, coffee & cocoa, tobacco etc. The growth of tobacco sector in Bangladesh is a

glaring example how such relationship can do wonders for a commodity. Tobacco was

cultivated in 31,000 Ha of land in Bangladesh in 2005 which rose to 49,000 Ha in 2009

(Ministry of Agriculture, GoB). The tobacco companies take advantage of the situation when

the farmers do not get the reasonable price for their crops and provide them with all the

inputs for tobacco production on credit. The companies also offer ensured marketing of

tobacco leaves at predetermined procurement price.

6. Price of raw jute

During the last three seasons (2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11) the price of raw jute has

increased substantially in Bangladesh and India (Fig. 6 and Table-5).

Fig.-6: Export price of jute fibre-Bangladesh

With the reopening of some closed public sector jute mills and more new jute mills (about

10) being set up in Bangladesh, the mill production capacity will increase and the need for

raw jute for domestic consumption would lead to higher local demand and higher market

Export Price of Jute Fibre-Bangladesh

0

200

400

600

800

1000

2003/04

2004/05

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

Price(US$/ton)

Bangladesh


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price. The raw jute price of medium quality jute in Bangladesh was US$ 255.0 per MT in

2003-04, US$ 516.7 per MT in 2008-09 and US$ 788.1 per MT in 2009-10. This upward

trend in prices of raw jute may continue because of higher demand for jute and jute products.

It has, therefore, become imperative to increase the crop output to meet the requirements of

an increasing number of mills and factories and also to retain the export market with

guaranteed supply.

The higher price of raw jute and jute products, however, in the long run may result into an

adverse impact on the export market as it would make jute products non-competitive vis-a-vis

synthetics and ultimately resulting in a loss of global market share. It has been observed that

the export volumes of raw jute in 2008-09 and 2009-10 in Bangladesh are lower than that in

the previous year (2007-08) although the export value has increased (Fig. 7).

Fig. - 7: Export volume and export value of raw jute from Bangladesh

The situation should not be allowed in any way to grow to a level that it leaves negative

impact on the market share of jute products since the lost market is difficult to regain. The

high price and low export is a matter of concern for the jute sector in Bangladesh and India,

the two largest producers of jute and jute products.

The increasing commodity prices including jute and jute products has been a matter of global

concern as witnessed during the two recent international conferences at UNCTAD - Global

Commodities Forum 2011, Geneva, January-February 2011 and Multi-year Expert Meeting

Raw Jute Export

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

2007-08 2008-09 2009-2010

Volume & Value

Yea

Export Volume

Export Value in

US$ (in million)


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on Commodities and Development, Geneva, March, 2011. These conferences underlined the

fact that while increasing demand and low supply is a general reason for increase in

commodity prices, the inadequacy or non-existence of commodity market mechanism is the

other big factor. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), too, is concerned with

inadequacy of existing market mechanism and jute is no exception. In India, the existing jute

commodity exchange with its mechanism of future trading has not been able to rationalize

the growing prices while in Bangladesh such a formal jute commodity exchange is still to

evolve. Industry in both the countries has been sceptical to this idea in spite of the fact that

well intended and properly functioning commodity exchanges have played a very positive

role in most of the other commodity markets in rationalizing the commodity prices. Jute has

been traded in both the countries through existing traditional system dominated by middle

level traders known as farias and the system has failed to rationalize the current market

prices. Thus this is high time for the respective Governments and the other stakeholders to

evolve towards a well managed commodity exchange in future.

Till the time an orderly commodity exchange system becomes operational, both Bangladesh

Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) and Jute Corporation of India (JCI) may be entrusted with the

responsibility to enter commercial trading for limited purpose of price stabilization at

reasonable levels. Buying and selling by BJMC and JCI is likely to trigger as well as bring

down the raw jute prices in the market and the respective Governments can play an indirect

role through these state agencies to define the reasonable levels. This arrangement will also

enable BJMC and JCI to optimize the returns from their surplus storage capacity. BJMC has a

number of godowns in each of their mills and also in more than hundred purchasing centres

across the jute growing areas. JCI also has more than hundred godowns across the country.

So far industry association in India has been resisting such an intervention by JCI since

market entry of JCI for commercial purchase will further increase the prices without realising

that timely sale of raw jute by JCI in the inflated market can also bring down the prices. Thus

the need for limited intervention of both JCI and BJMC in jute trade for limited objective of

price stabilization and rationalization and not for profiteering is the only way to arrest present

jute price volatility.

In order to avoid abrupt fluctuations in the price of raw jute the jute industry may also think

of a system of contract growing and a buy-back policy with the farmers in their catchments

area which will not only ensure the growers of remunerative price and assured market but it

will also diffuse the present market volatility and help protect the interest of the industry.


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Table-5: Market Price of TD 5 grade of jute in India

US$ / MT

Year 2001-

02

2002-

03

2003-

04

2004-

05

2005-

06

2006-

07

2007-

08

2008-

09

2009-

10

2010-

11(upto

Jan11)

Maximum 371 220 233 373 349 350 336 645 811 872

Minimum 205 180 181 217 267 242 251 322 433 611

Average 288 200 207 295 308 296 293.5 483.5 622 741.5

Fig.-8: Minimum Support Price & Average Market Price of TD-5 grade of jute in India

In the context of increasing trend in the price of raw jute since 2007-08, the role of

Minimum Support Price (MSP) to farmers has become debatable in India while Bangladesh

does not have such mechanism. JCI had no occasion to start MSP interventions since 2007-

2008. The difference between Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Average Market Price of

TD-5 grade of jute in India is shown in Fig.8.

Minimum Support Price & Average Market pr ice of TD-5

grade of jute in India

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

Minimum Support Price of TD-5 grade of jute in India

Average Market Price of TD-5 grade of Jute in India


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Thus in the coming years discovering a fair and reasonable price level for jute and jute

products in producing and exporting countries is going to become the one of the major

challenges for overall growth of the jute economy and global expansion of jute fibre.

Industry

7. Mill production

The nature of mill production has seen some basic differences in Bangladesh and India. In

Bangladesh major production is in the spinning sector (64 mills) while in India most of the

mills (78 mills) are composite mills.

India is the leading jute goods producing country in the world accounting for 70% of

estimated world production primarily because of large number of composite mills. The total

production of jute goods is around 16, 00,000-18, 00,000 MT a year with minor variations.

The production suffered in 2006-07 and in 2009-10 due to strike in the jute mills. The mills

in India produce around 200,000-350,000 MT of Hessian and around 800,000-1150, 000 MT

of Sacking. The average domestic consumption of total production is about 85% and exports

about 200 300 MT of different jute products a year.

Public sector jute mills under Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) produce on an

average 1,50,000 MT of jute products of which about 1,20,000 MT is exported. Private sector

jute mills enlisted with Bangladesh Jute Mills Association (BJMA) produce about 1, 50,000

MT of jute products and export around 80,000-1, 00,000 MT.

Yarn producing mills under Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association (BJSA) produce around

3,00,000 MT or more of jute yarn annually and export about 2,50,000- 3,00,000 MT mainly

to Middle East countries, Europe, USA, etc. Yarn sector in Bangladesh has flourished

tremendously over the last decade compared to the composite mills. The closed mills of

various countries (Algeria, Italy, France, Belgium, UK, Bulgaria, Brazil, Thailand, etc.) had

been relocated in Bangladesh which started production of jute yarns of various counts to meet

the requirement of foreign consumers. In 2010 Bangladesh exported about 3, 80,000 MT of

jute yarn to various countries, Turkey being the lead importer with 37% of the total yarn

export. Composite mills, however, could not fare so well because of shrinkage of export

market for hessian, carpet backing cloth, etc. Apparent consumption of jute, kenaf and allied

fibres in different countries is shown in Table-6.


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Table-6: Countries with apparent consumption of jute, kenaf and allied fibres (000 MT).

Over the last few years the production in Pakistan has been relatively stable at 60,000 to

80,000 MT a year of sacking, 15,000 to 25,000 MT of hessians and 10,000 to 18,000 MT of

yarn and twine. The overall output of the mills in Pakistan is showing an increase from

95,485 MT in 2002-03 to 137,411 MT in 2008-09 though it is also facing competition from

polypropylene bags. The vast bulk of production is sold to markets within Pakistan but some

yarn and hessian is exported to Afghanistan, Iran and Middle Eastern-markets. In Pakistan

the occasional bans on jute exports from Bangladesh in past few years brought a major shift

in their packaging sector since the country switched to synthetic options and used even cotton

bags for food grains packaging.

In 2004 the harvest of jute and kenaf crop in China was 87,000 MT from 32,000 Ha and in

2009 about 80,000 MT from 30,000 Ha. China imported raw jute of about 65,000 MT in

2004, 126,000 MT in 2007 and 96,000 MT in 2009 primarily from Bangladesh. China now

imports jute yarn from Bangladesh and the volume of import is increasing. The import of jute

yarn by China was 2,000 MT in 2008-09 and 10,282 MT in 2009-10. China is coming out as

an exporter of shopping bags in the world market as reflected in quantum increase in its

import of jute yarn.

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

(Provisional)

Average

India 1570.

0

1521.

8

1588.

9

1583.

0

1473.

1

1751.

4

1653.

7

1473.1 1576.9

Bangladesh 170.0 151.0 142.0 170.0 162.0 160.0 156.3 157.1 158.6

China 161.9 120.7 137.9 160.9 160.4 194.8 185.9 163.0 160.7

Pakistan 103.4 112.0 111.1 113.9 122.0 134.4 145.1 132.1 121.7

Turkey 70.6 79.7 111.7 101.5 132.2 127.8 153.2 141.7 114.8Iran 74.0 68.7 73.8 81.0 70.0 65.0 65.2 65.2 70.4

Thailand 36.5 36.5 39.0 37.7 41.0 41.5 45.5 61.7 42.4

Brazil 16.1 26.4 17.1 29.1 32.3 31.3 32.8 30.1 26.9

Ghana 9.3 11.0 15.9 5.3 21.4 15.1 13.7 12.8 13.1

Myanmar 19.0 19.5 20.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 19.8

12.5 12.5 12.5 13.0 13.0 13.0 13.0 13.0 12.8


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8. Modernization of Processing Machinery:

As recognized by most studies, modernization would include development and adoption of

new generation machinery as jute needs to be processed at a technological level close to that

used by other fibres for its survival against the competition from competing synthetic fibres.

New machinery need to be designed to process greater volumes, process faster with higher

standards, consume less power and be cheaper and easy to maintain. Electronic retrofits need

to be introduced in these machines for effective quality control and continuous monitoring.

Modern machinery which can be adapted to work successfully with jute are high output

spreaders, new design high output Breaker and Finisher cards, high speed & high output

drawing frames, ring twisters, shuttle less looms, precision winders, etc. Installation of

shuttle less looms like Sulzer, STB, Dornier, ATPR, etc would improve the productivity and

quality as well. Ring spinning may be adopted to produce fine yarns which will be

subsequently used in making light weight fabrics to be used for making various products like

shopping bags, decorative, household items, handicrafts, etc. Establishment of automatic jute

bag sewing units would increase the productivity to a great extent.

A number of jute mill machinery manufacturers like Lagan Engineering Company Ltd,

Milltex Engineering (P) Ltd, GSL, India and Zhejiang Golden Eagle Co., Ltd, China

manufacture and supply jute processing machinery to the jute industry of Bangladesh and

India.

Government of India is currently implementing a project on Jute Technology Mission

(JTM) for overall development of the jute sector in India. Under Mini Mission IV of JTM, a

Scheme for Machinery Development has been earmarked for technology upgradation in the

jute industry. Several mills have taken subsidy benefits under the scheme and have gone

mostly for partial replacement and modernization. The scheme is also supporting a modern

machinery development program with Lagan Engineering Company and the outcome is still

awaited.

Jute mills in Bangladesh also require modernization to cope with market requirements and

also for production of value added diversified products. BJMC may consider upgrading its

factory Gulfra-habib to produce modern machinery in addition to its present production of

spare parts.


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In spite of its necessity, modernization in jute industry is not taking place at the desired level

in both the countries because of non-availability of precision processing machinery at

affordable price. Moreover, the machine manufacturing companies are not investing in the

R&D for upgrading and producing the new generation machinery because of lack of demand.

Jute mills in Pakistan, Nepal and Myanmar are also in dire need for modernization. In Nepal

and Myanmar the Governments are said to be thinking of disinvestment in its public sector

jute mills which can open new investment opportunities for investors from Bangladesh and

India in these countries. The fast growing jute mills in Bangladesh and India can explore the

possibility of overseas acquisitions. IJSG is exploring such possibilities and would be keen to

facilitate such option as the things unfold in Nepal and Myanmar.

9. Jute Product Mix

a) Changing Product Mix:

In India jute products mainly include Sacking, Hessian, and Carpet Backing Cloth (CBC).

Other jute products such as Floor coverings, Hand Bags, Shopping bags, Wall hangings, and

Decorative fabrics are also produced and exported. Production of Hessian fabrics is around

250,000-350,000 MT and domestic consumption is around 200,000-250,000 MT a year.

Production of Sacking in 2003-04 was 979,000 MT which increased to 1143,000 MT in

2007-08 with proportionate higher domestic consumption. In 2008-09 and 2009-10

production of jute products was less than that from 2007-08 because production in the mills

was disrupted due to strike in the jute mills. CBC production was 4,700 MT in 2002-03

which went up to 6,000 MT in 2007-08. Production and export of diversified products from

India is on increasing trend and now constitutes 28 % of total jute product export from India.

Although there is little change in Hessian and CBC, the Sacking and diversified sector is

showing an upward trend.

In Bangladesh jute products include Yarns and Twine, Sacking, Hessian, CBC and

diversified products like Shopping Bags, nursery pots, bottle bags, mats etc. Yarn sector in

Bangladesh is progressing very well as is evident from the export figures. Export of yarns

from Bangladesh was 189,679 MT in 2002-03 while it was 380,000 MT in 2009-10 showing

a big jump. The domestic consumption of jute goods in India is given in Fig.-9.


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Fig.-9: Domestic consumption of different jute products in India

The mandatory packaging order in India and Bangladesh is a welcome approach as it ensures

more domestic consumption and opens up scope for more value addition. However, it has to

be carefully monitored that it does not stand as a barrier towards modernization and product

diversification. The mill owners that produce sacking and hessian or yarn may feel

complacent with a assured market and may not feel encouraged in going for diversification,

the area which is going to be necessary for further value addition and expansion of jute sector

in future. In Bangladesh the necessary notification for implementing the policy is yet to be

published in the official gazette.

b) Diversified Products:

Besides being used as packaging materials, jute is now widely used as floor covering, home

textiles, decorative fabrics, shopping bags, carry bags, handicrafts, cushion cover, curtains,

blankets, nursery pots, insulation material, soil saver and jute based composites, etc.

Bangladesh, India and China export jute diversified products (JDP) like Floor Covering,

Hand bags, Shopping Bags, Decorative Fabrics, Wall Hangings, Gift Articles, etc. Exports of

JDP from India have been showing an increasing trend. India exported JDP of value US$


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56.39 m in 2004-05 and US$ 65.46 m in 2008-09 (Fig.-10). Share of JDP export to all jute

goods export by India was 22% in 2004-05, 26% in 2007-08 and 28 % in 2008-09.

Fig.-10: Export value of Jute Diversified Products from India

Export value of Hand Bags & Shopping Bags from India was US$ 36.82 million in 2008-09.

In Bangladesh no separate figure for shopping bags is available which is shown in the other

jute products category that includes mats, floor coverings, decoratives, wine bottle bags,

nursery sheets etc. The export figure shows that in 2008-09 Bangladesh exported 1970 MT of

these products of value US$ 2.3 million. The figures about China are not available but the

trend is continuously rising.

The upward trend of export of JDP indicates that JDPs are receiving appreciation from the

foreign consumers. Promotional activities such as participation in International Fairs and

Exhibitions on the patterns of mainstream textile sector may be useful as this would make the

consumers familiar with various jute products and their applications and the source of their

availability. Organizing standalone jute Fairs by producing countries may also be considered

which will be very useful. The Jute mills can also get involved and promote JDP sector by

supplying yarns and fabrics necessary for production of JDP to medium and small

entrepreneurs as a constant source for their market. The mills will get a local market and

production of JDP will increase. The JDP production could also be enhanced and organized

Export value of Jute Diversified Products fromIndia

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

million


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by forming cooperatives or Self-Help Groups with the small entrepreneurs of the

unorganized sector.

IJSG has recently implemented a project on Small-Scale Entrepreneurship Development in

Diversified Jute Products through which a large number of small entrepreneurs about 1150

in India and about 1420 in Bangladesh have been trained to develop and produce diversified

jute products and many of them have already started production and sale of various jute

products in the local as well as the foreign markets. Through this project some Raw Material

Banks (RMB) and Jute Entrepreneurs Service Centres (JESC) have been established both in

India and Bangladesh which encourage the new entrepreneurs to start producing and

marketing the diversified jute products. This is in addition to the efforts by producing

countries through their own organizations like Jute Diversification Promotion Centre (JDPC)

in Bangladesh and National Jute Board (NJB) in India.

10. Future Growth areas that need attention for promotion

10. a. Shopping Bags

Manufacturing and export of jute shopping bag is an importantarea that needs attention of

the policy makers as well as the manufacturers. Jute has established itself as the most

versatile and economically viable alternative to polythene and other synthetic products. The

adverse impact of polythene bags resulting into environmental degradation has made people

inclined to use more natural fibre products.

As a consequence of adverse impact of polythene on the environment many countries around

the globe including Bangladesh, India and others have already taken regulatory measures to

reduce the use of polythene bags. UAE has decided to completely ban the use of polythene

bags by 2014. Several other countries like Ireland, Thailand, Japan, and some States in USA,

Denmark and Norway have already taken such steps to discourage use of polythene bags in

some form or others. These measures include from complete ban on polythene bags to taxing

the use of synthetic bags (plastitax in Ireland) and some other mix of incentives and

disincentives. Steps taken by the producing countries to supply jute bags so far are quite

inadequate to meet the requirements at a competitive price. A long term plan aiming at large

scale production and supply of shopping bags needs to be drawn up to produce huge

quantities of jute bags and make them easily available to the consumers.


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It has been estimated that annual world demand for shopping bags is approximately 500

billion pieces whereas the supply of jute shopping bags is almost negligible in comparison. If

this demand could be met by light weight jute shopping bags weighing 15 gm, the annual raw

jute requirement will be about 7 MT which is more than double the current total raw jute

production in the world if only one bag is used per week per family. The table-7 below

shows the type of bags with carrying capacity and estimated cost per piece. If a 3 kg or 5 kg

capacity bags are used the raw jute requirement will be much higher. It goes without saying

that by promoting jute shopping bags around the world the sector could flourish and more

labourers / workers would find job in producing and manufacturing countries where

unemployment is a major problem.

Table-7: Type of jute bags, size and costs

Type of bags Size Average

weight

Total jute

required

Estimated

cost(US$)

Low cost light

shopping bags

10 cm X 25 cm and

35 cm X 25 cm

15 g 7 million tons

Conventional

shopping bags of

CBC-

a. 3 Kg capacityb. 5 Kg capacity

c. 10 Kg capacity

35 cm X 26 cm 55.9 g 29.65 million tons 0.202

39 cm X 32 cm 73.8 g 39.1 million tons 0.23650 cm X 38 cm 93.3 g 49.45 million tons 0.325

Big jute mills and BJMC and IJMA can take steps for manufacturing of jute shopping bags as

one of their commercial product lines. Similarly the small entrepreneurs can join hands and

form groups and approach a big mill to supply required raw materials to store it in existing or

new Raw Material Banks (RMB) which can be set up by the associations of JDP

manufacturers. Mills should open Warehouses in various parts of the country to supply to the

RMBs. Thus a number of warehouses and Raw Material Banks (RMB) in different zones of

the country may be opened under this arrangement.

Government subsidy in some form may act as a catalyst in promoting the growth of such

Warehouses and the RMBs. The Warehouses will feed the Raw Material Banks which, in

turn, will supply to clusters of entrepreneurs. This will boost the production of shopping bags

and ultimately will justify and successfully implement the ban on polythene bags by making


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the alternative bags readily available. Such a growth model can become a vehicle for

additional employment generation in countries like Nepal, Pakistan, Vietnam, Myanmar etc.

apart from Bangladesh and India. Each entrepreneurs would employ a number of workers,

artisans particularly women for manufacturing shopping bags and different diversified

products of jute. This may pave the way for the development of JDP sector on the pattern of

ready made garment (RMG) sector in Bangladesh and India.

The proposed production and export model in Fig.-11 explains how the different sectors in

the production, manufacturing and exports can be organically linked to create a win-win

situation for all the stakeholders. This phenomenon is happening at present in a limited way

and without much organic relations between the different players. Mills, both in Bangladesh

and India, except for few exceptions, have not been very enthusiastic to such diversification

because of their present assured markets. The Government agencies like the National Jute

Board (NJB) in India and JDPC in Bangladesh should step into this process to catalyze the

development of JDP sector to realize benefits of higher value addition. In India, NJB has

been implementing some schemes for promotion of this JDP sector under which financial

assistance is being given for setting up new units, hiring market outlets and also for

participation in international fairs. Scheme has been giving positive results as reflected in

rising export of shopping bags.

RMB

Export throughcooperatives,

self-helpgroups, NGOs

Exportthroughindustry

RMB

Jute Mill

WarehouseWarehouse

Warehouse

RMB RMB RMB RMB RMB RMB RMB

EntrepreneursEntrepreneurs Entrepreneurs

Direct Exportto buyers


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Fig.-11: Development of entrepreneurs and employment generation

10. b. Food Grade Jute Bags

Food Grade Jute Bag is another important jute product which needs vigorous market

promotion as it provides hydrocarbon contamination free jute bags for storage and

transportation of food items. According to International Cocoa Organizations (ICCO) latest

estimate the requirement of food grade jute bags is 32 million bags which will rise with the

higher production of cocoa that is witnessing constant annual growth. The supply of food

grade jute bags from Bangladesh and India is about 12 million bags. Sisal bags are also being

used in transportation of cocoa.

Over 100 million (60 kg) bags of Coffee are now produced in over 70 countries throughout

the world which need as many bags for transportation. A recent study on Sustainable

Fig.-12: Sales of sustainable green coffee

Sale of sustainable green coffee

Sustainable

Market, 8.7

Conventional

Market , 91.3 Sustainable Market Conventional Market


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Markets: A (Challenging) Opportunity for Sustainable Development by Jason Potts

(UNCTAD Global Commodities Forum 2011) shows that sustainable markets of some food

items like coffee, cocoa and banana are entering the mainstream markets. The sustainable

coffee has already attained a market share of 8.7% of global green coffee exports and reached

from 65,000 MT in 2004 to 1, 85,000 MT in 2009 (Fig.-12)

Through sustainability initiative the export of sustainable cocoa reached from 8,000 MT in

2000-01 to 45,000 MT in 2008-09 indicating a steady growth. The growth of Cocoa and

Coffee would create more demand for food grade jute bags, which may, in turn, further add

to the growth of jute as a sustainable commodity. Renewed interest of Brazilian industries in

their capacity expansion is evidence of this high growth market. Because of increasing

demand for these commodities there is tremendous scope for jute industries in Bangladesh,

India and also Pakistan to regain and expand the food grade jute bags market in the Cocoa

and Coffee producing countries. IJSG is in touch with the Coffee and Cocoa Associations and

would like to work with the national governments and the industries in producing countries to

strengthen and consolidate this potential market.

10. c. Jute Geo-textiles

Geotextiles are materials that are used to increase stability and decrease wind and water

erosion. Jute geotextile is one of the most important diversified jute products with a

potentially large-scale application. JGT has some inherent advantages over its synthetic

counterparts like high moisture / water absorbing capacity, excellent drapability, high initial

strength, biodegradability, easy availability and environment friendliness. JGT can be used to

perform functions like filtration, separation, drainage, reinforcement, stabilization /

consolidation of soft soil etc. in an effective manner. It can have several applications in soil

erosion control, soil consolidation, agro-mulching, protection of riverbanks & embankments,

land reclamation and in road pavement construction. JGT can promote growth of vegetation

by exerting mulching action, adding nutrients to the soil and augmenting its permeability.

The demand for jute geotextiles is increasingin various parts of the world. However, absence

of adequate awareness and lack of standards and specifications regarding product


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specifications, its life cycle and its disposal protocol analysis seem to be adversely affecting

the possible expansion of the market. An analysis (Jute Basics-International Jute Study

Group) of the broad consumption pattern of different geo-textiles in the year 2000 shows that

synthetic materials account for 94 %, jute 1 % and other natural fibres 5 % of the total geo-

textiles market. The total consumption of geo-textiles of all categories was 1400 million sqm

in 2000-01. The aggregate demand had increased to 1621 million sqm in 2002. Presently the

market for geo-textiles is estimated at about 5300 million sqm (Fig.-13). Based on current

projections, it is estimated that by 2014, a 10% market share for jute geo-textiles may be

considered realistic which would need 250,000 - 300,000 tons of jute.

Fig.-13: Quantity of geo-textiles consumption in million sqm

It has been found in an earlier study conducted by Silsoe College, Cranfield University, UK

during the erstwhile IJO that jute geo-textiles are suitable for rural road construction, soil

erosion control and agro-plant mulching. IJSG is currently implementing a project on Jute

Geo-textiles (JGT) involving Bangladesh, India and UK with the funding support from CFC.

Under the project activities JGT would be used in rural road construction, protection of hill

slope and river banks & embankments. Specifications will be developed and effectiveness of

jute geo-textiles would be standardized for use in various parts of the world In India therehas been a good number of field trials of jute geo-textiles in the past and under the Prime

Quantity of Geo-Textiles consumption in million sqm

1400

16215300

2000-01

2001-02

2009-10


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Minister Gramin Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) 20% of rural roads are to use jute geo-textiles to

strengthen the roads. The Railway budget 2011-12, too, envisages compulsory use of jute

geo-textiles in laying of some rail tracks in India. The Government intervention is extremely

necessary to induce use of jute geo-textiles in various applications in the producing countries.

Bangladesh Government, too, can think of taking such initiative not only for promotion of

jute sector but also for better durability of rural roads. It has been established by several

earlier studies that some additional cost on use of jute geo-textiles is made up by increased

life of the roads.

The limiting factors for the growth of jute geotextiles sector, however, remain in the form of

lack of standardization, eco-parameters, disposal parameters and adoption in public sector

projects. The project under implementation by the IJSG will remove most of these limitations

but the national governments and the industry in the jute producing countries have to look

forward towards the sector in a proactive manner.

10. d. Traditional Jute Products: Floor Coverings, Carpet backing cloth, Sacking

From the conventional carpet backing cloth, jute has moved up the value chain and is being

used for making attractive floor coverings. Consumer preference is also shifting away from

synthetics to natural floor coverings. Jute floor coverings include woven tufted and piled

carpets, rugs, runners, floor mats, matting, braided carpets, durries etc. of jute alone or

blended with other textile fibres. The traditional Satranji carpet is becoming very popular for

home dcor in Bangladesh and also abroad. The world demand for jute floor coverings was

7.7 million sqm in 2002 while the world demand for flooring and carpets is estimated to grow

5.0 percent annually through 2014 to 15.3 billion square meters. USA has been the major

importer accounting for 54% of the total world imports demand. The USA market for carpets

and rugs is projected to rise only 1.6 percent per year through 2011 to over 2.1 billion square

meters but will still account for 65 percent of the floor covering market. Europe is the second

largest consumer (19%). Recent information indicates India as the major supplier of jute floor

coverings catering to 90% of the total world import demand. This item needs further

promotion.

Future demand of these products will be driven by acceleration in world residential building

construction activity, supported by an upturn in spending in industrialized countries such as

the US, and by healthy consumption environment in a number of middle income and


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developing countries. Renewed growth in automobile sector is also likely to contribute to

overall growth of jute flooring and carpet market. China alone is estimated to account for 38

percent of all additional sales by 2014 (www.news.wooeb.com, 2011) strengthening its

position as the largest flooring and carpet market in the world in terms of square meters.

Growth is also expected to be healthy in lower-volume markets like Ukraine, India, Vietnam,

Turkey and Thailand. Although increases will generally be not as strong as in North America

or developing parts of the world, floor covering demand in Japan and Western Europe is

likely to be positive.

10. e. Jute Composites

Natural fibres particularly jute has been found to be useful in making bio composite

materials. This can have wide-ranging applications ranging from environment-friendly,

biodegradable composites to biomedical composites for drug delivery and tissue engineering

applications. Current applications for natural fibres reinforced composites can be classified

into two main areas- Construction and Automotive although there are a number of more niche

applications such as manufacturing of musical instruments, house hold items, furniture, etc.

Almost all the major car manufacturers in Germany use natural fibre composites. A study

conducted in 1999 ( Nonwoven Structures for Applications as Automotive Component

Substrates, by G C Ellison & R McNaught in 200) indicates that there is scope for about 20

kg of natural fibres to be used in each of the approximately 53 million vehicles being

produced globally each year. Even if 5-10 kg natural fibre is used per vehicle then 265000-

530000 tons of natural fibre would be required and jute is the most suitable fibre to meet this

demand. Jute based composites are also emerging as a true substitute of wood and plastic

automobile structures. Renowned car manufacturing companies like Mercedes Benz,

Daimler-Chrysler, Germany; Toyota, Japan; Ambassador Suzuki-Maruti, India; Hyundai,

Korea and Proton, Malaysia etc. are using jute based composites in making different molded

body structures in their different automobiles to make them more eco-friendly.

Other products that are presently being produced from jute based composites are

sheets/boards, doors, window frames, furniture, corrugated sheets and chequered boards, etc.

Jute based composites may be considered as a focused area of development as it holds the

prospect of an entirely new application areas leading to future development and an increased


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market share for jute. It also paves the way towards growth of an entirely new market where

the raw material does not enter into traditional industrial production system through

processing but finds direct industrial application at the stage of raw jute in the form of jute

cuttings. This is a very positive growth signal for farmers to grow more jute in areas having

scarcity of water for retting.

IJSG has implemented a project on Jute Reinforced Polyolefines for Industrial Applications

through which the technologies for production of Jute-Polypropylene granules have been

developed and with those granules a number of products like electric extension cable cover,

car parts, house hold items, step of a lorry, etc .have been produced in Bangladesh and India.

IJSG is trying to demonstrate the feasibility of the technology but not succeeded in getting

actual investment in spite of tremendous commercial possibilities of the technology. Jute

industries need to have a fresh look at this investment opportunity.

Jute Particle Boards

Particle boards made from jute sticks find wide applications as substitutes for wood. Particle

Boards in different size, shapes, thickness, design, colour and fashion are available in the

market for use as a raw material for furniture, home decoration such as tables, chairs, garden

tables, door frames, cans, and containers etc. as a substitute of wood and plastic materials.

The availability of the technology for the production of particle boards and its high socio-

economic value are in favour of the future development of this jute product. Use of jute

particle boards has been found to be quite acceptable both in terms of quality and price. This

is an area for future investment and needs to be promoted by the Governments in the jute

producing and manufacturing countries.

Bioplastics

(The Myth and Reality of Biodegradation)

Bioplastics or organic plastics are becoming popular with time. It is a form of plastics derived

from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable oil, corn starch, pea starch, palm oil etc.

Some, but not all, bioplastics are designed to biodegrade. Starch-based plastics constitute

about 50% of the bioplastics market and are used for drug capsules in the pharmaceutical

sector. By varying the amounts of flexibilisers and plasticisers starch can be processed

thermo-plastically and the characteristics of the material can be tailored to specific needs.


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Similarly the cellulose based plastics; the cellulose esters like cellulose acetate, nitrocellulose

could also be produced.

Bio-derived polyethylene is chemically and physically similar to traditional polyethylene - it

does not biodegrade but can be recycled. It can also considerably reduce greenhouse gas

emissions. Brazilian chemicals group Braskem claims that using its route from sugar cane

ethanol to produce one ton of polyethylene captures (removes from the environment) 2.5 MT

of carbon dioxide while the traditional petrochemical route results in emissions of close to 3.5

MT of CO2.

The production and use of bioplastics is generally regarded as a more sustainable activity

when compared with plastic production from petroleum because it relies less on fossil fuel as

a carbon source and also introduces fewer, net-new greenhouse emissions if it biodegrades.

They significantly reduce hazardous waste caused by crude oil-derived plastics, which remain

solid for hundreds of years. It has opened a new era in packing technology and industry.

As commonly understood, bio-plastics are plastic materials produced from a biological

source. One of the oldest plastics, cellulose film, is made from wood cellulose. All (bio- and

petroleum-based) plastics are technically biodegradable, meaning they can be degraded by

microbes under suitable conditions. However, many degrade at such slow rates as to be

considered non-biodegradable. The degree of biodegradation varies with temperature,

polymer stability, and available oxygen content. Consequently, most bioplastics will only

degrade in the tightly controlled conditions of industrial composting units.

Traditional plastics such as polyethylene are degraded by ultra-violet (UV) light and oxygen.

To prevent this process manufacturers add stabilizing chemicals. However with the addition

of a degradation initiator to the plastic, it is possible to achieve a controlled UV/oxidation

disintegration process. There are also concerns that bioplastics will damage existing recycling

projects. Packaging such as HDPE milk bottles and PET water and soft drinks bottles is

easily identified and hence setting up a recycling infrastructure has been quite successful in

many parts of the world. Because of the fragmentation in the market and ambiguous

definitions it is difficult to describe the total market size for bioplastics, but estimates put

global production capacity at 327,000 tonnes. In contrast, global consumption of all flexible

packaging is estimated at around 12.3 million MT.


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COPA (Committee of Agricultural Organisation in the European Union) and COGEGA

(General Committee for the Agricultural Cooperation in the European Union) have made an

assessment of the potential application of bioplastics in different sectors of the European

economy: 1) Catering products: 450,000 MT/year; 2) Organic waste bags: 100,000 MT/ year;

3) Biodegradable mulch foils: 130,000 MT/ year; 4) Biodegradable foils for diapers 80,000

MT/ year; 5) Diapers, 100% biodegradable: 240,000 MT/ year; 6) Foil packaging: 400,000

MT/ year; 7) Vegetable packaging: 400,000 MT/ year and 8) Tyre components: 200,000 MT/

year totaling 2,000,000 MT/ year.

In the years 2000 to 2008, worldwide consumption of biodegradable plastics based on starch,

sugar, and cellulose - so far the three most important raw materials - has increased by 600 %.

The National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) predicted global annual capacity would

grow more than six-fold to 2.1 million tonnes by 2013. BCC Research forecasts the global

market for biodegradable polymers to grow at a compound average growth rate of more than

17 percent through 2012. Even so, bioplastics will encompass a small niche of the overall

plastic market, which is forecast to reach 500 billion pounds (220 million MT) globally by

2010.

With the exception of cellulose, most bioplastics technology is relatively new and is currently

not cost competitive with petroplastics. However, in certain special applications bioplastics

are already unbeatable because pure material costs form only a part of the entire product

costs. For example, medical implants made of PLA, which dissolve in the body, save patients

from a second operation.

The market of bio-plastics and bio-polythenes is fast growing since plastic and polymer

industry in developed countries have been able to promote it as the more eco-friendly

option to petro-based products. This growing trend is fast taking over a sizeable part of the

market share of natural fibres, especially jute. This bio-plastics route, however, directly uses

many food crops for its origin which will become a limiting factor in its future growth

beyond a point because of global pressure of ensuring food security. Natural jute bags

obviously remain the best available option but needs to compete with these products in

future. The issue involves the need for generic promotion of jute and creating the knowledge

and the awareness that jute products are much more natural and sustainable than any bio-

plastic or bio-polyethylene.

Recently a technology has been developed by the Institute of Tropical Forestry and Forest

Products (INTROP) of the University of Putra Malaysia to make Bio-plastics with starch and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodegradablehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodegradable


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kenaf. This technology can be used in making bio-plastics with jute and starch which may

lead to a very important new application of jute in future. The bio-plastic industry should

explore this option to become even more eco-friendly and reduce its dependence on food

crops. IJSG is intending to popularize this technology in association with INTROP.

10. f. Pulp and Paper

The demand for pulp and paper is increasing globally and is expected to grow further.

According to a paper demand and supply study published by the global consulting group

Jaakko Pyry, Finland, world demand for paper and paperboard has grown rapidly over the

years, reaching a record level of 359 million tons in 2004 from 300 million tons in 1999 and

is estimated to grow by 2.1% annually in the long term, reaching an estimated 490 million

tons by the year 2020.

A drastic reduction in the supply of wood and bamboo pulp the world over coupled with

increasing concerns regarding reduced forest resources have forced many countries to search

for alternatives for making paper from so called tree free pulp. Jute and kenaf plants are

annually renewable resources and have been found to be an excellent raw material for making

good quality pulp and paper. IJSG has recently implemented a project on Biotechnological

Application of Enzyme for making paper pulp using jute/kenaf as a raw material (the whole

plant). The technologies for biopulping and biobleaching for making pulp and paper from

whole jute/kenaf plants as well as from jute fibre and jute sticks have been developed under

this project. It has been found that energy requirement under this technology will be about

30% less than the conventional process. It has also been found that mechanical pulping is

suitable for making newsprint grade paper with jute/kenaf. IJSG has a plan to carry out a

techno-economic feasibility study on the findings of the project so that the entrepreneurs

could be convinced about the viability of industrial production of pulp and paper using

jute/kenaf plants as raw material. It may be mentioned here that retting of jute plants is a

major problem in the water scarce area. A section of farmers would be benefited if the raw

jute plants could be sold as such without the retting, extraction, washing and drying processes

which are both cost and labour intensive.

It may be cited here that Maubin Paper Mill of Myanmar has been producing 5,000 MT of

paper a year consisting of 2,500 MT of writing and 2,500 MT of offset printing paper using

dried jute plants raw materials. There is another paper mill in Myanmar that uses kenaf plants


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as raw material which indicates the suitability and viability of jute/kenaf being commercially

used as raw material for making pulp and paper. This possibility needs to be explored by the

jute industry and also the producing country Governments. It has been reported that the

Government of Bangladesh is considering reopening of the North Bengal Paper Mills

(NBPM) to be operated on jute pulp as raw material. It is a very welcome development for

jute sector.

Jute Trade

11. Export of Jute and Jute Products:

11. 1 World Export of raw Jute

World export of raw jute in 2008-09 and 2009-10 appears to be lower than those of previous

three years (Table-8). Bangladesh is the only major raw jute exporter accounting for 90-95%

of total raw jute export. The export of raw jute from Bangladesh in volume terms has gone

down which may be attributed to the fact that recently the Bangladesh Government has taken

steps to open some of the closed public sector jute mills because of which domestic

consumption of raw jute has increased. The temporary ban on export of raw jute from

Bangladesh in 2009-10, and the high prices of raw jute since last few years are responsible

for low export volume. The export by the developed countries has also decreased drastically

since 2008-09 due to high price. It indicates that the jute traders in the developed countries

are becoming less active due to high prices and uncertainty in the supply system.

Table-8: World export of raw jute, kenaf and allied fibres (in '000 MT)

2000-

01

2001-

02

2002-

03

2003-

04

2004-

05

2005-

06

2006-

07

2007-

08

2008-

09

2009-

10World 307.4 304.9 473.0 374.2 343.3 468.7 467.1 523.2 326.7 325.5

Bangladesh 279.8 253.9 453.4 342.9 306.7 440.5 439.7 495.0 314.9 315.0

China 2.2 2.0 1.3 1.0 0.6 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.6 0.1

Myanmar 10.0 30.6 4.1 16.9 13.7 5.6 9.0 0 0 0

Thailand 1.8 1.1 1.1 1.1 1 1.1 0 0 0.1 0

Developed

Countries 12.8 16.5 10.8 10.9 16.8 16.1 14.6 23.4

8.2

8.2

5.6

5.6


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11.2. World Exports of Jute Products

World export of jute products in volume terms in 2008 and 2009 appears to be somewhat

static although lower than those in 2005 and 2007 (Fig. 14 and Table 9). In case of export of

Bangladesh jute products the scenario is a little different and encouraging as the export in

2009 has increased to 560 thousand tons which is 16.7% higher than the previous year.

Export of jute products by India shows an increasing trend as it exported 177.8 thousand MT

in 2000 and 207.6 thousand MT in 2008, an increase of 16.8% during the last 8 years. Export

by Europe and Thailand has a declining trend while export by Nepal and China shows an

increasing trend. China is now exporting jute shopping bags to various countries reflected in

its increasing exports. Exports from India also show a declining trend except in the year

2008. The increase of export of jute products by China is due to initiative taken by China to

become a major manufacturer and exporter of jute shopping bags to different countries. This

is a good sign for the jute sector as a whole since the manufacturing capacities of China are

well known to capture the market which is likely to sustain the demand of jute products in

global market. At the same time, however, this trend is a matter of concern for JDP

manufacturers in both India and Bangladesh since the JDP manufacturers in these countries

need to reposition themselves for such a formidable future competition.

With the growing awareness about pollution free environment natural fibres products made of

jute are going to have a huge potential market and this growth prospect seems to have been

fully captured by China. IJSG feels that it is high time to launch a generic promotion of jute

and allied natural fibres by way of holding international seminars, exhibitions, buyer-seller

meets and even jute specific international exhibitions along with simultaneously increasing

production capacities, establish reliable supply mechanism to cash on the global eco-

enthusiasm.


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Fig.-14: World export of jute products

Table-9: World Exports of Products of Jute, Kenaf and Allied Fibres (in '000 Tonnes)

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009(provisional)

World 643.

8

649.

9

680.

3

729.

5

748.

1

800.

3

774.

1

832.

7

773.0 768.0

Africa 1.3 4.4 2.5 2.3 2.6 2.6 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0El Salvador 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.1

Turkey 0.3 0.2 1.0 3.7 4.2 6.4 4.3 5.7 5.1 4.4

Bangladesh 378.

0

409.

2

400.

6

391.

9

439.

4

476.

0

478.

9

549.

7

480.

0

560.0

China 6.5 11.2 11.1 15.9 16.1 7.6 18.5 21.1 12.6 16.8

India 177.

8

151 189.

9

243.

8

193.

0

208.

1

189.

5

175.

6

207.6 135.

Nepal 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 13.0 13.0 13.0 13.0 13.0 17.4

Pakistan - - - 9.1 14.5 18.9 17.1 15.1 6.1 10.0

Thailand 7.2 8.3 7.3 7.9 6.3 6.3 3.4 2.8 1.5 0.9

USA 2.1 1.8 2.6 2.1 1.4 1.6 1.2 1.9 1.8 3.4

World Export of jute products

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

'000

Tons

World Bangladesh China India Europe


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Europe 52.3 44.1 48.1 39 52.4 55.6 42.2 41.4 21.1 17.6

Belgium-

Lux

26.6 20.9 19.2 18.3 25.4 27.2 19.6 22.2 11.1 10.3

France 3.7 2.0 2.3 1.6 1.7 1.3 0.5 0.5 0.2 0.3

Germany 5.4 5.3 5.2 5.2 4.9 6.0 6.4 4.9 3.7 1.9Netherland

s

6.5 4.8 9.5 3.2 5.1 5.6 4.3 4.1 2.0 1.0

UK 5.1 5.7 5.8 4.5 5.9 6.6 4.3 3.0 1.7 1.4

12. Import of Jute and Jute Products:

12. 1. Raw Jute

Pakistan, India, China, Thailand, Europe and Ivory Coast are the major importers of raw jute

mainly from Bangladesh (Table-10 and Fig.-15). The world import of raw jute in terms of

volumes in 2009 shows that it has gone down by 5.5% from import in 2008 and by 18.8%

from import in 2007 and the world import of jute products also has gone down by 11.47%.

The world import was highest in 2007 (512.7 thousand MT) when import by China was 125.7

thousand MT, an increase of about 42% from the previous year. Import by Brazil was 11,000

MT in 2001 which has gone down to only 1,800 MT in 2009 indicating a sharp fall. In fact

Brazil has started growing jute to meet part of its domestic requirement. The three big jute

companies in Brazil are responsible for production of substantial part of jute bags required for

storage and transportation of Coffee and Cocoa beans produced in Brazil. Brazil produces

about 1, 50,000 MT of Cocoa and 30,000-35,000 bags (60 kg) of coffee beans every year

that are transported in jute bags. It has imposed anti-dumping duty on import of jute bags

(with an exception to only a few overseas industries) to protect its own industries. Brazil also

takes the advantages of LAFTA (Latin American Free Trade Agreement) in its efforts to

export some of its jute products to neighbouring countries.

Import of raw jute by Europe was 24,900 MT in 2001 which has come down to 15,900 MT in

2009, a reduction of about 36% in 8 years. The reduction of import of raw jute by Europe is

due to the fact that no jute yarn and twine spinning mills and composite jute mills are left in

Europe except two small units in Rumania which, too, are gradually switching to importing

jute yarns/twines. Also, European companies that used to tease jute cuttings for making felt

and materials for manufacture of composites have virtually ceased to exist under the

competition from low cost production in Bangladesh. The reduction of jute imports is also

related to the lower production in 2004-05 in Bangladesh and India due to flood and also due


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to partial ban on exports by Bangladesh in 1984 and in 2010.The volatility in the prices of

raw jute has also been a factor in decline of imports by European buyers.

Import of raw jute by Pakistan was showing increasing trend but was reduced by 20.8% in

2009 from that of the previous year due to short supplies from Bangladesh. Pakistan exports

jute products to countries like Iran and other middle-east countries. The Indian import of raw

jute was up by about 50% and Thailand import was up by 59% in 2009 from the previous

year. Import by Cote dIvoire is more or less steady which is around 10,00012,000 MT a

year. Import by Saudi Arabia is showing the increasing trend. Import by Saudi Arabia was

only 300 MT in 2001 which increased to 3500 MT in 2009 and 4100 MT in 2008. Import by

Tunisia is also on the increasing trend reaching 3500 MT in 2009 from just 200 MT in 2001.

These increases are due to declining use of synthetics. The import by El Salvador is almost

steady at about 800 MT a year.

During the last 10 years the import by Egypt has decreased substantially from 6200 MT in

2001 to 800 MT in 2009 due to preference for cheaper synthetic alternatives. Import by Iran

also has decreased from 5900 MT in 2001 to 1000 MT in 2009 due to international embargo.

Import in USA was only 500 MT in 2001 which increased to 1700 MT in 2009 after attaining

its peak in 2008 when it was 3500 MT. Import in Europe maintains a declining trend with

24900 tons in 2001 and only 15900 MT in 2009 which is less by about 36%.

The global import trend of raw jute seems to be on the higher side compared to previous

years with an exceptional growth in 2007 which shows all time highest import as a result of

global economic upswing and increased global environmental awareness. The trend,

however, could not be sustained due to increased domestic demand in producing countries,

reduced production and temporary ban on raw jute export from Bangladesh resulting in high

export prices. It is observed that in 2007 the world production of jute, export of jute products

and import of jute were highest.

Table-10: World Imports of Raw Jute, Kenaf and Allied Fibres (in '000 MT)

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

World

279.

0 337.3 385.5 331.3 380.1 343 512.7

440.

3

416.2

Cote d'Ivoire 12.1 24.2 15.2 6.9 12.9 12.0 7.5 12.7 10.0


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Ethiopia 3.0 2.4 5.4 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.6 3.7

Nigeria 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1

Tunisia 0.2 1.5 1.2 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.7 1.4 3.5

Egypt 6.2 1.3 1.0 1.7 1.5 1.6 0.3 08. 0.8

Brazil 11 4.0 13.8 1.9 0.2 2.1 0.2 1.7 1.8

El Salvador 0.8 0.1 1.0 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.8Cuba 0.3 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 1.7 1.8

Asia

Iran 5.9 2.3 1.8 1.3 1.0 1.0 1.1 1.0 1.0

Saudi Arabia 0.3 0.3 1.8 1.9 1.9 0.8 1.0 4.1 3.5

Turkey 0 2.7 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0 0.1 0.0

China 7.2 41.1 34.3 65.1 82.2 88.6 125.7

114.

2

95.7

India 69.3 110.4 144.2 62.3 97.5 60.3 162.7 68.7 102.9

Indonesia 3.8 2.3 2.2 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.6 5.5 2.2

Pakistan 78 90.9 89.2 129.4 128.5

115.

8 126.4

143.

6

113.7

Thailand 38 15 36.7 17.6 6.3 15.6 23.3 11.0 17.5

United States 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.9 2.5 1.6 3.6 3.5 1.7

Europe 24.9 20.0 19.1 16.6 17.0 15.3 23.2 23.5 15.9

Belgium-Lux 5.0 3.4 4.0 3.8 2.9 1.1 2.4 1.1 1.0

Germany 2.6 1.5 1.3 1.9 2.0 1.3 3.3 1.7 1.9

Netherlands 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.7 1.4 1.3 0.3 0.1 0.1

Spain 4.1 4.4 5.4 3.3 1.5 1.3 1.4 1.3 0.8

UK 5.3 4 2.8 0.3 2.4 2.5 6.3 11.3 4.5

Other Europe 2.2 2.8 1.5 1.5 2.1 2.3 2.5 2.5 2.2Oceania 2.8 2.4 2.1 1.5 2.3 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.5

Australia 2.8 2.4 2.1 1.5 2.3 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.5

Japan 2.6 2.1 1.0 1.2 0.7 0.9 0.7 0.5 0.5

World Import of Jute Fibre

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

'000to

World Pakistan China India


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Fig-15: World import of Jute fibre

12. 2 Jute Products

Import of jute products by Africa has gone down in 2009 by about 15 % from the previous

year. However, import by Ghana is on the increase from 5000 MT in 2000 to 12,000 MT in

2009 due to more import of food grade jute bags (Table-11 and Fig.-16). Iran, Syria, Turkey,

Saudi Arabia, Australia and Indonesia are the major importers of jute products. Turkey

imports a lot of jute yarn from Bangladesh to produce carpets, prayer mats, etc. Import of jute

products by Europe has decreased remarkably during the last ten years for reasons of non

conformity of stipulated product standards and lack of regular and timely supply by the

product manufacturers. It was 207,900 MT in 2000 but only 79,200 MT in 2009. Import of

jute products in North America has also gone down sharply. It was 70,700 MT in 2000 with

only 28,400 MT in 2009. Import of jute products in Japan also shows a decreasing trend. It

was 24,000 MT in 2000 but only 14,200 MT in 2009. Import by Sudan was 30,000 MT in

2000 which has come down to only 1,000 in 2009. However, import in Indonesia, Malaysia,

Thailand and Korean Republic is showing an upward trend. Indonesia imports food grade jute

bags for cocoa transportation and Korea is producing jute base composites for making

moulded automobile structures.

The shrinkage of the jute products market in Europe can be attributed to changes in

customers preferences. The customers have been opting for new and alternative products

partly for price reasons but primarily for lack of dependability of timely supply of jute goods

which are still to develop a mass production and supply chain. Competition from synthetics

with their huge capacities worldwide and drastic changes in transport methods is also

responsible for low imports. Change of strategy by synthetic products manufacturers from

purely petro-based to so called bio-degradable polythenes has been able to sustain their

markets and they have been able to satisfy the eco-preferences of the discerning Western

customers. These alternatives of jute and natural fibre bags are no doubt more versatile than

jute products but certainly less eco-friendly. Thus jute based products have lost European

market because of price considerations, lack of mass production and reliable supply chain and

last but not the least because of strict adherence to environment and social compliances by

buyers and failure on the part of jute manufacturers to establish the social and ecological

credentials of their products.


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Fig.-16: World import of products of Jute, Kenaf and Allied fibres

Table-11: World Imports of Products of Jute, Kenaf and Allied Fibres (in '000 MT)

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

World 558.9 594.2 608.7 587.6 589.7 574.2 590.8 596.5 528.1

Africa 32.8 22.6 34.5 44.2 35.1 50.7 49.9 44.2 37.5

Algeria 1.0 1.0 5.4 8.7 5.7 5.1 7.2 5.9 5.8

Ghana 7.3 8.4 10.3 14.6 4.7 19.8 14.2 12.8 12.0

Egypt 15.9 6.5 4.0 3.8 5.5 5.4 4.6 12.3 12.0

Latin America 10.2 8 10.5 9.2 9.8 11.9 12.3 12.8 9.9

Brazil 1.9 1.8 2 2.4 2.7 3.9 4.1 5.6 3.1

Asia

Iran 57 67.2 63.1 68.2 75.1 60.02 60.01 60.0 60.0

Saudi Arabia 14.9 13.9 15.2 16.5 18.7 18.9 19.3 16.0 17.5

Sudan 15.4 11.0 3.7 3.9 3.0 3.2 2.1 1.0 1.0

Syria 35.8 65.9 80.0 30.8 42.3 53.7 39.7 33.4 35.0

Turkey 43.4 64.6 78.1 108.5 101.2 127.9 125.1 148.3 137.5

China 3.2 3.7 4.3 3.5 4.0 4.5 4.7 5.4 5.0

Indonesia 2.5 3.1 4.5 6.0 7.1 8.8 11.1 13.0 10.7

Korea Republic 3.0 3.5 3.4 3.0 4.8 5.0 5.7 5.5 5.5

Malaysia 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.7 1.4 1.8 2.0 2.7 3.7

Pakistan 1.2 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.4 1.3 1.0 1.0

Sri Lanka 2.3 2.0 2.3 2.2 3.2 2.5 2.1 2.6 2.6

Thailand 0.4 0.3 0.9 1.7 0.4 0.6 0.5 2.9 21.2

North America 52.8 61.4 56.7 60.1 59.3 49.9 46.3 40.8 28.4United States 48.4 56.6 51.9 55.4 54.7 46.5 42.4 37.2 25.1

Wo rld Imp ort of Products of Ju te, Kenaf an d Allied

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

'000

Jute Matters Web

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