Pakistan Jute Mills Association (PMJA) has urged the government of Pakistan to follow the footsteps of Bangladesh which has adopted an aggressive approach to support its jute sack industry.
Mohammad Younus, Secretary General of PJMA, stated that recently Bangladesh’s appellate division of the Supreme Court has supported their government’s decision to make use of jute bags necessary for packaging rice in order to provide assistance to jute sack industry against the polypropylene or plastic bags.
It may be added here that Bangladesh has already promulgated orders nominating jute sacks mandatory packaging for wheat grains storage. The government is also providing 7 per cent cash subsidy for exporting jute items.
It is ironic that the government of Pakistan had been continuously neglecting a sector which was at present supporting more than 125,000 people directly and indirectly, he said.
He added if the government would have promulgated such an order, as per the requests made in pre-budget proposals, it could have reduced the risk of contamination of food grains and environmental hazards that are associated to synthetic packaging. Besides, Pakistan could have earned green credit among the countries which have adopted eco-and-human friendly packaging.
He said worldwide jute was considered as the best option for the storage of wheat and other grains as its natural fibers did not interfere with the breathing process of the grains and keep their quality intact for longer time period due to their ability to protect them from sunlight and heat.
The PJMA secretary general argued that using jute sacks could prove beneficial in the situation where Pakistan was acutely lacking proper bulk handling facilities. One can easily calculate the cost advantage by the fact that government was procuring 6 or 7 times more poly bags than the jute sacks owing to their limited reuse capability, he said.
He added that wastage disposal was another issue with the increased usage of poly bags. On the other hand, jute sacks also offer the recycling advantage as torn bags can be sewed with sutra (jute chords) which is impossible with poly bags as carcinogenic oxides are released in the atmosphere during recycling. It is for this very reason, recycling of Polypropylene bags is prohibited in European countries.
