Bangladesh is one of the world’s biggest jute producers, yet its famous “golden fibre” is steadily losing ground to cheap plastic and synthetic bags. The country introduced the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act in 2010, requiring 19 essential products—including rice, wheat, maize, fertiliser, sugar, potatoes and onions—to be packed and transported in jute sacks. But in markets and rice mills, plastic remains far more common. Bangladesh produced more than 8 million bales, or about 1.44 million tonnes, of jute in 2025–26, while around 3 million farming households depend on the crop. Jute exports earned more than US$820 million in 2024–25, yet the industry continues to struggle because plastic bags are cheaper, easier to obtain and supplied directly to businesses.
The irony is that the problem is not simply that jute is too expensive. A 50-kilogram synthetic bag can cost around 20 taka, compared with 80 taka for a jute sack, but the jute sack can be reused several times, making it more durable over its lifetime. The bigger problem is unreliable supply: Bangladesh has around 5,000 automatic rice mills, and many cannot easily find enough jute sacks when they need them. The government carried out 1,093 mobile court operations and filed 1,399 cases between July 2025 and June 2026 to enforce the law, but enforcement alone has not solved the market problem. At the same time, 25 state-owned jute mills were shut in 2020, with only nine of the 14 mills leased to private operators having restarted production so far. Bangladesh now faces a strange contradiction: it has a biodegradable material capable of replacing plastic, millions of farmers producing it and a law supporting its use—but without reliable supply, competitive prices, modern mills and stronger demand, the golden fibre is still being pushed aside by plastic. More