Jute sector turns around after four consecutive years: Exports increase to $880 million in the outgoing fiscal year

Although the heyday of the once ‘golden fiber’ jute is now over, its importance in the country’s export trade is still undeniable. After four consecutive years of decline, the export of jute and jute products has finally turned around in the outgoing fiscal year 2025-26. Although the income during this period reached the highest level in the last three years, this promising sector is still far behind the record achieved during the Corona period.

Positive trend after four years Although the annual export revenue from jute and jute products was close to $1 billion (1 billion) for a decade, it increased to a record $1.16 billion during the COVID-19 pandemic, i.e. in the 2020-21 fiscal year. This was the highest in the past 16 years. After that, the sector saw a decline for four consecutive fiscal years.

However, in the recently concluded fiscal year 2025-26, exports of jute and jute products increased by 8.5 percent to reach US$ 880 million. According to data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the bulk of this revenue came from various international markets including Turkey, China, India, Egypt, UAE, Russia and Iran.

According to exporters, the increase in income in the outgoing fiscal year was mainly due to the increase in the price of raw materials, not the volume of products. The price of raw jute in the market increased sharply after the country was disrupted by floods last year.

Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association (BJSA) President Tapas Pramanik said that while the price of raw jute per maund was Tk 3,000 to 3,500 last year, it had to be purchased for Tk 5,500 to 6,000 in the outgoing fiscal year. As a result, the cost of production increased, and the price of a $1,000 product rose to $1,200 to $1,300. Although exports increased in total value, the volume or quantity of the product did not increase.

EPB data shows:

• Raw jute: In the outgoing fiscal year, raw jute exports decreased by 11 percent to $130 million. In terms of quantity, this is about 77 percent less (38,000 tons).

• Jute yarn: Although yarn exports increased by 18 percent to $490 million, their volume decreased by 2 percent to 428,000 tons.

• Jute sacks: Exports of sacks or bags increased by 5 percent to $130 million.

Potential and Challenges in Multipurpose Jute Products Currently, the demand for jute furniture products, shopping bags, technical textiles, automobile parts and jute charcoal is increasing rapidly in the global market. But in this promising field, the opposite picture has been seen in Bangladesh. In the outgoing fiscal year, multipurpose jute products were exported worth 74.4 million dollars, which is about 11 percent less than the previous year.

Md. Rashedul Karim, managing director of ‘Creation’, a multi-purpose jute products exporter, said that due to the Middle East conflict and rising energy prices, buyers in major markets like the European Union have reduced their budgets for non-essential products. As a result, the volume of orders has decreased by 20 to 25 percent.

According to a report by the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Bangladesh is the world’s second largest jute producer (annual production is about 9 million bales). If the right policies are adopted , it is possible to earn $5 billion (5 billion) annually from this sector.

Businessmen say that several urgent steps need to be taken to realize this potential:

• Ensuring smooth supply of raw jute and special incentives for exports to new markets.

• Research and quality improvement in the development of new products.

• Encourage domestic and foreign joint investment in this sector to compete with China and India.