Excessive rains this year have hit the jute crop in Bangladesh giving rise to speculations of output being below expectation. This has led the price of raw jute to rebound.
At Faridpur, one of the main jute producing regions in the country, price of the hardstick tosha variety of newly harvested raw jute has increased to Tk 1,800 to Tk 2,100 per 40 kg, from Tk 1,700 to Tk 1,800 per 40 kg recorded at the beginning of the current month.
Similarly, the price of jute harvested last year and since stocked has also increased sharply over the past few days, as the demand started accelerating after some jute millers in the region started procuring the crop.
A good crop production was expected this year as a rise of 20 percent was registered in the jute cultivation acreage for the current season. This year, the crop is being cultivated on an area of 1.38 million acres, as against last season's 1.15 million acres.
Such a significant rise in crop cultivation acreage gave rise to positive hopes for increased crop output. However, the hopes dried down after continuous heavy rains during second half of June which adversely impacted the growth process of standing crops.
Last year, 5.9 million jute bales (1 bale = 180 kg) were produced, higher than the output of 5.172 million bales achieved the year before.
Output for the current season was previously projected to rise to 6.6 million bales. However, there are speculations that the production may be about 30 percent below last year's output due to the continuous heavy rains coupled with pest attacks spoiling the crop.
Even at present, the demand for jute is higher than its supply, and the per acre yield is likely to keep below expectation as plant roots in fields in many regions have rotten due to water logging after heavy rains.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
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