With demand for Bangladesh jute products gaining momentum in both national and international markets, the Jute Protection Committee shows concern over the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act 2010 not yet implemented properly even four years after the act came into being.

They observed that the implementation of the act is not up to the mark to make the industry viable. More subsidiaries are needed to mobilise the sector as the demands for jute products are on the rise nationally and internationally.

The observation came at a roundtable discussion jointly organised by the Jute Protection Committee and ActionAid at the National Press Club in the city. The stakeholders and businessmen who attended the programme called into question the poor implementation procedure which is a bar to the sustainability of jute industry.

ActionAid Deputy Director Aamanur Rahman appreciating the jute act said that it was high time the authorities concerned paid the highest attention to once golden fiber of Bangladesh as the European market turns to the environmentally friendly jute products.

According to Khondaker Golam Moazzem, a researcher from Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), the jute industry need to prepare a long-term plan to bring in success as every year the demand for jute products is rising at the rate of 7% worldwide.

Director of Marketing Babul Chandra Roy of Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) confirmed that they are trying their best to implement the act. But the fact goes that most of the rice and sugar mills are reluctant to use jute sacks.

State Minister for Textile and Jute Mirza Azam present at the roundtable said that the Awami League government wants to promote the jute industry and it is concentrating on quick implementation of the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act.

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

Most participants at the discussion were in favour of reducing the production costs of the jute-based products to make the industry more competitive and sustainable.