KARACHI: The inauguration of the exhibition Jute products of Bangladesh, showcasing diversified jute products of the country at a local hotel on Friday, offered a fine opportunity for learning about jute plants, their history, cultivation and processing, the jute industry, traditional use of jute, diversification of the use of jute and innovation in its use.

Through his interesting and in-depth presentation about jute, Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh Noor-i-Helal Saifur Rahman explained that jute is one of the most inexpensive fibres of the world that grows all over, but its majority is produced in Bangladesh and India. “The jute plant needs a plain alluvial soil and standing water which is easily available in Bangladesh and India,” he said, adding that jute was basically divided into three classes — white jute, tossa jute and mesta jute.

“White jute is longer, while tossa jute is silkier and much stronger than white jute. One the other hand, mesta is a relatively lower fibre grade,” he explained.

He said that jute had always been called the golden fibre of Bangladesh. “Prior to the birth of Bangladesh in 1971, jute earned the lion’s share of foreign currency for entire Pakistan. And it still remains to be the number one

cash crop of Bangladesh as it fetches the highest amount of foreign currency among the agriculture exports of Bangladesh,” he said.

“Although it is not known when jute production began, it is, however, a very old fibre plant. Jute was used for making textiles in the Indus Valley Civilisation in the third millennium BC and was an integral part of life in present Bangladesh and adjoining areas. Historical documents including Ain-i-Akbari by Abul Fazl in 1590 noted that the poor villagers of that part of the world used to wear clothes made of jute. When there were no jute mills, people usually processed and made the material through handlooms. However, mechanised jute industries came up in the early 18th century, bringing better days for the jute farmers as well as for the economies,” he said.

“Jute trade historically flourished in and around Kolkata in India as the jute cultivation was basically centred around the then Bengal. Jute from Bengal was exported to Europe early in the 17th century by the Dutch and the French traders and later on by the British East India Company,” he said.

Development of jute industry

The deputy high commissioner of Bangladesh said that the creation of Pakistan in 1947 opened a new horizon for development of the jute industry generally in Pakistan and particularly in East Pakistan. “Investors from West Pakistan such as the Bawanis, Adamjees, Isphahanis, Dawoods and many others flocked together in setting up a good number of jute mills in Narayanganj, Khulna and Chittagong. The Adamjee Jute Mills set up by the well-known industrialist Abdul Wahid Adamjee in 1951 became the largest jute mill of the world employing around 30,000 workers,” he said.

It was explained that after the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, most of the jute mills were taken over by the government, which later established the Bangladesh Jute Mills Cooperation to control and develop the jute industry in the country. Presently Bangladesh has 45 jute mills in public and private sectors and another hundred mills/industries there are involved in the diversification of jute products such as canvas, sacking cloth, tarpaulin, bags, carbon-free jute cloth, tobacco sheets, decorative items, etc.

It was shared that in the fiscal year of 2018, Bangladesh exported jute and jute goods worth of $1.02 billion and the target for the current fiscal year is $1.3bn. Jute and jute products are the third sector that has crossed the $1bn mark in export receipts of Bangladesh after readymade garments and leather products.

After the popularity of the cheap but environment-hurting polythene bags, a Bangladeshi scientist, Dr Mubarak Ahmed Khan, came up with biodegradable plastic from jute after years of research. Another scientist, H.M. Ismail Khan, invented tea made from jute leaves, which has already caused a stir in Europe.

The High Commissioner of Bangla­desh Tarik Ahsan, meanwhile, said that he was extremely happy to be in the vibrant and cosmopolitan city of Karachi. “We lovingly call our country ‘Golden Bengal’ because of the golden fibre of jute,” he said.

“It has economic potential, shaking up the social and political landscape of Bangladesh, but it has also seen ups and downs due to the popularity of plastic products. But jute is not just bags and ropes. Jute is also fast becoming a fashion statement,” he said.

“Our researchers are also working on genome sequencing of the jute plant, which will go a long way in reclaiming this golden fibre,” he added.

Finally, the high commissioner also requested the government of Pakistan to waive the custom duty of jute so that Pakistan can also have jute at an afforded price.

The exhibition on display included diversified jute products such as bags, bed linens, curtains, mats, jute fabrics, souvenirs and decoration pieces.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2019