DHAKA: Bangladeshi exporters are facing uncertainty over shipment of jute charcoal as shipping lines are refusing to carry the product following a fire incident at Chittagong Port, according to the stakeholders.
Reportedly, about 500 to 600 tons of charcoal has remained stranded at the port over the past one month, forcing the exporters to count a possible financial loss of Tk40 to Tk50 million, according to exporters.
“We have been passing our days with a great uncertainty over shipment of charcoal” said Syed Manirul Islam, a leading exporter of charcoal.
He said there are about 27 to 28 charcoal factories in the country. As there was no any shipment over the past one month, over thousand tons of charcoal is also piled up in the units.
Bangladesh started producing ‘activated charcoal’ since 2012. The country exported jute stick carbon to China and earned over Tk140 million during the fiscal year (FY) 2015-16.
Bangladesh enjoys duty-free market access to China. The volume of ‘activated charcoal’ export could be doubled to access duty-free market facility offered by China.
The country produces over 3.0 million tons of jute sticks annually. Of these, if 50 per cent of jute sticks are properly used, then 2,50,000 tons of charcoal could be produced yearly, helping the country earn over Tk20 billion through export, the insiders said.
There is also a wide demand for charcoal in different countries. Bangladesh could also export the item to Japan, Turkey, the United States, Australia, Taiwan, Canada, Mexico and the Republic of Korea.
Considering the huge export opportunity, many foreigners have expressed their interest to invest in Bangladesh for producing more charcoal products.
Meanwhile, to resolve the deadlock over shipment of charcoal, the ministry of textiles and jute (MoTJ) discussed the issue with the stakeholders on Thursday.
“There will be an inter-ministerial meeting to address the shipment problems next week,” a high official of the MoTJ said.
