Bangladesh enforces jute law, fines violators nationwide.
The Department of Jute has collected fines amounting to Tk 45,81,970 through drives conducted across the country in the first nine months of the current fiscal year for violating the jute packaging law.
During the same period, a total of 655 mobile courts were conducted nationwide.
Officials concerned of the department told BSS that ensuring the use of jute-made bags for packaging 19 products, including paddy, rice, maize, sugar and fertilizer, would create more employment opportunities in the country.
Replying to a query, Director of the Department of Jute Uttom Kumar Mondol told BSS that the fines were realized through drives conducted from July 2025 to March 2026.
During this period, he said, several individuals were also awarded imprisonment under the law for various offences.
He said mobile courts were operated in different districts across the country and a target has been set to conduct 1,100 drives in the next fiscal year (2026-27).
Uttom Kumar Mondol said under the "Mandatory Jute Packaging Act, 2021", the use of jute bags or sacks has been made compulsory for packaging 19 types of goods in the country. The major items include paddy, rice, wheat, maize, fertilizer and sugar.
He said the government has also made jute packaging mandatory at different times for products such as ginger, garlic, onion, lentil, chili, turmeric, coriander, flour, atta, powdered milk, poultry feed and fish feed, bringing the total to 19 items.
He said the law was enacted mainly to protect the environment and increase the use of jute, as well as to safeguard the interests of jute farmers and mill owners and to limit the use of environmentally harmful plastic bags.
Uttom Kumar Mondal said executive magistrates under each district administration, Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs), Assistant Commissioners (Land) and officials of the Department of Jute jointly conduct these drives through mobile courts.
He said the drives are primarily aimed at implementing the "Mandatory Jute Packaging Act, 2021" by monitoring whether jute sacks are being used for the 19 products. Violations of the law result in fines, imprisonment or both.
The director said the Department of Jute is responsible for issuing and renewing licenses for jute-related businesses and implementing the law. At present, around 11,000 licenses of different categories have been issued across the country.
He said the department provides and renews 12 types of licenses, including licenses for exporters of jute goods, raw jute exporters, manufacturers of jute goods, internal brokers, export brokers, pakka balers, press owners (pakka press), aratdars, kacha balers, press owners (kacha press), dealers of jute (with or without warehouse facilities) and dealers of jute goods.
Uttom Kumar Mondal said regular drives are also conducted to prevent hoarding of jute. No aratdar is allowed to stock more than 500 maunds of raw jute, nor to store it for more than one month.
He said violators face penalties, and fines are imposed alongside obtaining undertakings from them to sell the stored jute in the market within three to seven days.
Director General of the Department of Jute Syed Md Nurul Basir told BSS that full implementation of the "Mandatory Jute Packaging Act, 2021" would create more employment opportunities and boost the rural economy, generating jobs for a large number of people across the country.
He said it would also help protect the environment and move the country towards sustainable development.
Syed Md Nurul Basir said that after meeting domestic demand, a portion of locally produced jute is exported abroad, with raw jute mainly exported to India and Pakistan.
Mentioning that millers often delay payment to farmers for jute, he said measures should be taken to ensure that farmers can sell jute in cash. Millers should also purchase jute during the season; otherwise, prices will rise in the off-season, he added.
He further said that initiatives to encourage farmers by providing jute seeds and fertilizers in designated areas should be continued, otherwise they may lose interest in jute cultivation.
