Pakistan worries over Bangladesh ban on raw jute export
Special Correspondent
Pakistan has become worried over the ban slapped by Bangladesh on its export of raw jute. Many jute mills in Pakistan rely primarily on raw jute imports from Bangladesh.
The concern was raised in Pakistan parliament by one of its members, Munaja Hasan, who asked if the government was aware that Bangladesh ban on its raw jute exports would cause losses for the Pakistani jute mills, and what steps have been taken to address the situation, a BBC report in its Bangla website said yesterday.
Engineer Khurram Khan Dastagir, the Pakistan Commerce Minister, told parliament in reply that most of the raw jute supply for Pakistani jute mills come from Bangladesh. So, the Bangladesh decision to stop its exports would lead to a crisis of raw jute.
The Pakistani commerce ministry officials are in talks with the Bangladesh authorities on the matter to ease the ban, Khan said, adding that the ban was temporarily lifted on January 7. Therefore, the mills that had opened letter of credit (LC) earlier would be able to import jute, providing some relief to the Pakistani mills, Khan said.
