Pakistan Jute Mills Association (PJMA) has urged the government to promulgate a legislation declaring jute as the mandatory packaging material for grains in order to keep the quality and germination capability intact in the upcoming budget 2014-2015.
PJMA said that this legislation will mitigate the contamination and environmental damage that is caused by the usage of synthetics as a packaging material besides earning green credit to the country. Furthermore, this mandatory order will also generate more employment opportunities in the jute industry which is at present supporting more than 125,000 people directly and indirectly.
PJMA mentioned that world-wide jute is considered as the best option for the storage of wheat and other grains as the natural fibres do not affect the quality of grains and protect them from sunlight and heat. Moreover, jute bags offer multiple reuse capability which can prove beneficial in situation where Pakistan is acutely lacking proper bulk handling facilities.
The association further mentioned that India and Bangladesh are providing lucrative support to the jute industry. For instance, the exporters of food grade jute bags in India are given subsidy of 20 percent of the manufacturing cost and 25 percent of the cost of new machine for technology up-gradation under the External Market Assistance Scheme. Similarly, Bangladesh is offering 7 percent cash subsidy on the export of Jute products.
PJMA also advised Government of Pakistan to take urgent step by strategically planning and providing the similar level of support to the domestic jute industry which will enable it to survive the competitiveness in the international market. This will fetch more foreign exchange and contribution to national exchequer will be increased due to expanding business volumes.