Calcutta, March 8: The Pakistan jute industry is keen on exporting goods, especially sacking, to India.

The industry, which has 14 composite mills with a combined capacity of 120000 tonnes, is facing a demand crunch following a switchover to poly-packing by cement, sugar and flour mills.

According to Humayun Mazhar, chairman of the Pakistan Jute Mills Association, exports of jute goods, which started three years ago with just about Rs 8 crore, is likely to touch Rs 100 crore in the current year. The export market is currently confined to Egypt, Syria, Sudan and Iran.

“The increasing exports by Pakistan proves that we are competitive in the international market. We have taken up at the government level the issue of removing jute goods from the negative list in Indo-Pak trade. After all, Punjab and Delhi are closer from Lahore than from Calcutta,” Mazhar added.

“Allowing Pakistani mills to export sacking to India would not be a threat to the local industry. We are too small to be any threat,” he noted.

The Pakistan jute industry, which depends on fibre imported from Bangladesh and Myanmar, is also interested in reviving import of raw jute from India. Export of raw jute to Pakistan was banned about a decade ago following short crop in the country.

Mazhar and the deputy chairman of the Pakistan Jute Industry Association, Irfan Aslam, who were in the city to attend an International jute study group meeting, told The Telegraph that despite complete dependence on imported input and a shrunk market size the industry remained competitive.

“This is primarily because the industry is entirely in the private sector and we had been forced to look after ourselves,” he said.

Pakistan’s worker-per-tonne production at around 45 to 47 is similar to that in India.

Both Mazhar and Aslam have visited jute mill machinery manufacturing factories and modernised jute mills that make diversified products. “We too are seriously considering introducing diversified jute products for value addition and survival,” Mazhar said.

Jute bag project

India, Bangladesh and all other jute goods producing countries are toying with an idea to reach out each and every people in the world with a jute bag in 2009, which may be celebrated as the International Year of Natural Fibre.

The Food and Agricultural Organisation, (FAO) has recommended the United Nations to declare 2009 as year of natural fibre to encourage eco-friendly products.

International Jute Study Group secretary-general A.F.M. Sarwal Kamal said, “The General Assembly of the United Nations is likely to consider the FAO proposal at its meeting in September.”

The jute sector is enthusiastic about the move as it will bring international recognition and make their product visibility.