New buyers of jute: top carmakers

Better days are ahead for jute exporters as Bangladesh is strengthening its position as a major supplier of the fibre to renowned car brands.

Local exporters are supplying jute to top brands such as BMW, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota; the fibre is used for dash boards and other components for car interiors.

However, the carmakers do not buy jute directly from Bangladesh.

Exporters sell raw jute to processing companies in the US, Japan, Turkey, Germany, China and India; and the processors supply the fibre to the carmakers, said Abdul Quader, managing director of Faimex Trade International, a leading supplier.

His company supplies 3,000 tonnes of jute a year, a majority of which goes to BMW, Quader told The Daily Star by phone.

The jute processing companies prefer Bangladeshi jute for its quality, competitive prices and its shiny, white texture, according to Quader. “We also supply jute to Korean carmaker Hyundai and Kia.”

 “We have very good prospects of exporting jute to carmakers worldwide. We have a lot of work orders as well,” said high-level official of German development agency GIZ's Dhaka office.

BMW sources about 72 tonnes of jute from Bangladesh a year, according to the official.

“Even if the export quantity isn't very high, it is a good business opportunity for Bangladesh,” the GIZ official also said asking not to be named.

GIZ supervises the supply chain to make sure the jute destined for BMW is environment-friendly and does not pose any health hazard, and farmers get better prices and are not affected negatively.

“Our fibre is not confined in making sacks. Renowned car brands are using our jute fibre,” said Azazur Rahman, owner of Supreme Fashion and Fibre, another supplier to the BMW.

“I supply jute to my buyers in Germany and they supply the fibre to the processing companies and those processors supply the final products to BMW,” said Rahman, who declined to name his buyers.

Rahman, who supplies about 675 tonnes of jute a year, said demand for jute fibre is increasing as carmakers are no longer using the artificial synthetic fibre.

Jute is used not only for traditional goods -- sacks, yarn, hessian cloth and bags, carpet backing cloth and carpets, but also for paper, car components, composite boards, and textile fibre like viscose and non-woven, according to industry insiders.

With the diversified use of jute and jute goods worldwide, Bangladesh exported the item worth $284.46 million in July-October, which is 9.11 percent higher than the same time last year, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau.

Bangladesh exported jute and jute goods worth $868.53 million in fiscal 2014-15.