The government will import 6,300 metric tons of high yielding variety (HYV) certified jute seed from India during the 2018-19 jute season, reports BSS.

The target was set at the 95th meeting of the National Seed Board (NSB) held recently at the Agriculture Ministry with its Senior Secretary Mainuddin Abdullah in the chair.

Under the plan, selected private companies will import some 5,100 tonnes of tossa variety jute seed and the remaining 1,200 tonnes mesta or kenaf variety jute seed from India as the land for jute cultivation in the country is increasing gradually due to a jute friendly policy adopted by the government.

Talking to the news agency, Dr M Azhar Ali, acting director of Plant Protection Wing of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said, "The country has a demand of around 8,484 tonnes of jute seed including the desi, tossa and kenaf variety of jute. We have a target to import 6,300 tonnes of jute seed from India during the upcoming season beginning in the last week of March and harvest will end in the first week of July."