It is known that Indian authority is contemplating to impose a ban on exporting Jute seed to Bangladeshi Market.
Industry sources said the local farmers need over 5000 tonnes of jute seeds a year where only agriculture extension department (AED) can provide 775 toones. The rest of the demands of Tossa variety seeds are fulfilled by import India. The country imports more or less 85 per cent of Tossa jute seed from India to meet the local demand. Meanwhile, Indian businessmen requested Indian government to impose ban on export Jute seed as like onion and other commercial products.
Industry said the Indian government are positively responded with the Indian farmers demand and is planning to impose a restriction on export of jute seeds. The move of Indian seed growers has raised concerns among Bangladesh’s millers, cultivators and the government, official sources said.
The neighbouring country is likely to take the decision on the ban with a view to meeting its domestic demand for jute seeds, they added.
The jute industry and jute growers including a large number of people involved with the sector will face immense problems if India imposes a ban on export of seeds, according to a letter of the textiles and jute ministry.
In a letter, the agriculture ministry had recently requested the commerce ministry to take necessary steps in this regard and discuss the issue with the neighbouring state for import of seeds uninterruptedly from India.
Bangladesh largely depends on Indian jute seeds. About 70 per cent of jute seeds are imported from India to meet the domestic demand due to its lower production in the country.
“Jute cultivation in the country has increased many times due to a rise in jute prices. Jute seeds will be much in demand during the current season,” the letter reads.
“We have come to know that the Indian government may impose a ban on export of jute seeds like some other agricultural products including onion and potato,” a senior official of the jute ministry said.
The ministry concerned should now take urgent and proper steps so that the decision on a possible ban on export of such items by the Indian government cannot be implemented, he added.
A commerce ministry official said the ministry had started working on the issue. The textile and jute ministry had recently made request for taking steps in this regard.
The government had set a target to produce 4,500 tonnes of jute seeds in next five years aiming to make the country self-sufficient in such seeds, according to the agriculture ministry.
A project had also been undertaken involving the agriculture, textile and jute ministries as well as other stakeholders concerned to make the country self-sufficient in jute seeds. The project would be implemented over five years from fiscal year 2021-22 to FY 2025-26.
A total of 8,780 hectares of land would be purchased for jute seed farming, said the agriculture minister.
At a view-exchange meeting on ‘Implementing the roadmap to make the country self-sufficient in high-yielding jute seeds’ held in January, Dr Mohammad Abdur Razzaque said local farmers need 5,215 tonnes of jute seeds annually, of which 775 tonnes are supplied by Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation.
“Dependence on other countries for jute seeds is a great concern as such nations could slap ban on export anytime,” he added. Bangladesh is the second highest producer of raw jute and the largest exporter of jute and jute products in the world. The country’s jute output is above 1.4 million tonnes (8.0 million bales) annually.