India has imposed anti-dumping duty of $125.21 per tonne on jute sacking cloth from 15 Bangladeshi exporters and $138.97 on others. This duty was triggered by a spike in jute import following the imposition of similar duty on sacks and products in 2017. The tariff comes as the value-addition in converting jute cloth into sacks is insufficient.
However, around11 exporters escaped the fine as the Indian finance ministry’s investigations found their shipment quantities of jute cloth to not be excessive.
The development is a big blow to jute goods exporters, who are progressively seeing their export market shrink for a host of reasons including competition from the lower priced polypropylene and synthetic goods and falling demand from traditional markets.
India was one of the largest export destinations for Bangladesh’s jute and jute goods but after the imposition of the anti-dumping duty in 2017 shipments shrank. The latest round of levy would exacerbate matters.
According to data from the Export Promotion Bureau; the exports of jute and jute goods dipped by 20 percent year-on-year to $773 million in the first 11 months of FY 2018-19. The shipment of jute sacks and bags also suffered a 33 percent slump.
