Jute stockists create artificial crisis, allege exporters, spinners

Jute exporters and spinners have alleged a section of traders has created an artificial crisis of raw jute amid lack of government monitoring.
The exporters and spinners have said that they are facing raw jute crisis as a government directive regarding stocking and supply of the product is not being implemented properly that provides a section of traders with an opportunity to stock raw jute beyond permitted volume.
In a meeting with the jute sector leaders on production and supply situation of raw jute the textile and jute ministry on August 30 directed the Directorate of Jute to take necessary initiative so that traders could not stock more than 1,000 maunds of jute at a time.
After the direction of the ministry, the Directorate issued an order on September 15 asking its assistant directors to monitor the market so that the traders could not stock more than 1,000 maunds of jute at a time for over a month.
‘Supply shortage of raw jute has already been noticed in the market as the government directive regarding stock of the item is not being implemented,’ Md Rezaul Karim, chairman of Shippers’ Council of Bangladesh told New Age on Saturday.
Due to lack of the implementation of the government directive the traders are hoarding raw jute causing supply shortage of the item to the market, he said.
Rezaul alleged that the government also directed the Directorate to check the selling and buying of jute fibres that are soaked by some deceitful traders to gain extra weight but the government agency failed to implement the directive and the some dishonest traders were selling such goods in several markets across the country to make windfall profit.
Mohammad Kafayet Ullah, director of the Directorate, however, said that assistant directors of regional offices were working on the stock and supply situation but they did not find any stock of raw jute beyond permitted volume.
Businessmen are getting worried due to slow supply of raw jute to the market as this year raw jute from Jessore and Rangpur regions has come to the market belatedly but there was no incident of hoarding, he said.
Rejecting the allegation of Shippers’ Council of Bangladesh, Kafayet said that the exporters thought that raw jute was being stocked as they were not getting sufficient supply of the item for export in full season.
‘The exporters are getting annoyed with the Directorate for not finding satisfactory supply of the item as this is the pick time for export of raw jute and this year neighbouring India has less production of the item,’ he said.
The Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association has recently issued a press release alleging that despite having the full season there was a shortage of supply of raw jute to the market and the price was increasing every day as market of the item was being controlled by a section of stockists.
Ahmed Hossain, chairman of the BJSA, said, ‘If the market continues to experience high price and supply shortage of raw jute the production in spinning mills will be suspended.’
According to the Directorate, this year the target of production of raw jute was set at 82 lakh bales.
Jute sector people have estimated that 55 lakh bales of jute could be produced this year as the weather during cultivation was not favourable. They have apprehended that a shortage of raw jute might take place this year as the domestic demand for the item is 54 lakh bales and more than 10 lakh bales of jute are supposed be exported.

- See more at: http://newagebd.net/165298/jute-stockists-create-artificial-crisis-allege-exporters-spinners/#sthash.biCDhw2B.dpuf