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significant pie of the global market for Bangladesh, a programme was
told yesterday. "The worldwide demand for diversified jute goods is
around 6 lakh tonnes. If we can make 2 lakh tonnes of diversified
products to cater to the needs, jute prices will mark a rise," said
Kazi Rezaul Hasan, executive director of Jute Diversification
Promotion Centre (JDPC) of the Ministry of Textiles and Jute. "It
will also make it sure that growers get fair prices of their
produces," he added. The JDPC boss made the remark at an award- giving
programme to diversified jute goods makers for the year 2007-08.
The JDPC organised the event at the office of International Jute
Study Group (IJSG) in Dhaka. Textiles and Jute Minister Abdul Latif
Siddiqui handed over the awards to seven organisations. These
organisations succeeded in diversification of jute usage through
making different products such as lady sandals, tapestry, mat box,
lady coats, lady bag, shopping bag and tissue box. "Natural fibre
triumphs over the artificial fibre. Now jute is used for various
purposes, even in vehicles," said Latif Siddiqui. The winners are:
Sohag Jute and Handicrafts ( lady sandals), Tapestry and Painting
Studio ( tapestry), Taragna (mat box), Haimakanti Fashion Kutir (lady
coats), Shuchishoily Handicrafts (lady bag), Shafisons (shopping bag)
and Zarin Trade International (tissue box). As many as 22
organisations submitted 159 jute- made products to the JDPC to take
part in the competition. The minister said winners should treat these
awards as stimulus for continuing their efforts to make more
diversified products from jute, once a golden fibre. Discussants said
Bangladesh has a track record of making some jute-based products such
as sack for long time. They said time has come to diversify product
bases to attract consumers, both in the local and global market, as
demand for such products is on the rise. Siddiqui expressed his
dissatisfaction over the JDPC performance in promoting diversified
use of jute. He also came down heavily on the International Jute
Study Group (IJSG) saying that the organisation activities are still
unclear to him. The IJSG, an intergovernmental body that was set up
under the aegis of Unctad to function as the international commodity
body (ICB) for jute, kenaf and other allied fibres. Established on 27
April 2002 as the legal successor to the erstwhile International
Jute Organisation (IJO), IJSG is to provide framework for
international cooperation, consultation and policy development among
members, i.e., the jute producing, importing and exporting
countries. Another objective of the IJSG is promotion and expansion
of international trade in jute and jute products, introduction of new
jute products and the development of new end-uses, according to its
website. "What's use of the research if it fails to do any good for
the people," the minister questioned. "I am yet to understand the
functions of this organisation."
