LATEST
Tigers face off Malaysia in qtr-finals Khulna duck farming gains momentum among marginal farmers US, China to open AI channel after summit ‘Prolonged vaccine delays led to measles deaths’ Low gas pressure causes woes in Dhaka Over 100 detained RMG exports to UK rebound in August after sluggish July US keeps out of Hasina, AL matters UNGA visit opens new avenues for Bangladesh Green strategy puts clean air first
Skip to content

Tuesday | September 29, 2026 | Dhaka

India raises anti-dumping levies on Bangladesh jute

Duties range from $59 to $445 per tonne on products
 Staff Reporter
 Published: 12:56 AM, 29 September 2026  Updated: 11:21 PM, 28 September 2026

Bangladesh’s jute industry is facing fresh trade barriers in one of its major export markets, with India imposing anti-dumping duties of up to $445 per tonne on several jute products, including yarn and twine, despite a sustained decline in Bangladeshi shipments to the country.

The latest measure, announced by India’s finance ministry on September 24, covers jute yarn and twine, sacking bags and hessian fabrics exported by Bangladeshi producers, with duties starting at $59 per tonne.

The move comes at a time when Bangladesh’s jute goods exports to India have been shrinking, raising concerns among local industry stakeholders over the impact of the additional duties on market access and export earnings.

The decision follows a mid-term review by India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), which concluded three months ago that Bangladeshi exporters continued to dump jute products in the Indian market, causing injury to the domestic industry.

The DGTR launched the review in June 2025 following petitions from the Indian Jute Mills Association and the AP Mesta Twine Mills Association.

The petitioners sought a reassessment of existing anti-dumping duties on jute products imported from Bangladesh and Nepal to determine whether the rates should be increased

The trade remedies authority sought information from 54 Bangladeshi and 36 Nepali mills. Of these, 38 mills from Bangladesh and five from Nepal submitted responses.

India had previously imposed anti-dumping duties ranging from $19 to $352 per tonne on jute yarn and twine, hessian fabrics and jute sacking bags from Bangladesh and Nepal.

The duties were subsequently extended to jute sacking cloth from Bangladesh, contributing to a sharp decline in shipments to India, which had traditionally been one of the largest markets for Bangladeshi jute goods.

Under the latest notification, India has listed 36 Bangladeshi manufacturers and exporters, specifying different duty rates according to the companies and products concerned.

Asha Jute Industries Ltd, an exporter of jute yarn and twine, has been assigned the lowest duty of $59 per tonne.

Seventeen Bangladeshi companies will face a duty of $120 per tonne on jute sacking bags.

Six producers – AM Jute Industries, Bonanza Jute Composite, Lovely Jute Mills, Nawhata Jute Mills, Poddar Agro Industries and Ranu Agro Industries – have been exempted from anti-dumping duties on all product categories they export.
Two other producers, Natore Jute Mills and Janata Jute Mills, have secured zero-duty rates on sacking bags and hessian fabrics.

However, jute yarn and twine exported by any producer not included in the list of 36 companies will attract a duty of $445 per tonne, according to the notification.

In its mid-term review report, the DGTR said demand for jute products in India declined by 20 per cent during the investigation period, while imports from Bangladesh and Nepal fell by only 13 per cent.

The authority argued that the difference indicated foreign producers were gaining market share at the expense of Indian mills, despite the overall contraction in demand.

Bangladesh’s jute goods exports to India fell by 18 per cent year-on-year to 1.17 lakh tonnes in fiscal year 2024-25, according to the report.

Tapash Pramanik, chairman of the Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association (BJSA), described the latest Indian measure as “one-sided” and “coercive”, disputing the basis on which the duties were calculated.

“The rates of subsidies which they took into account for imposing anti-dumping duty on our exports have reduced significantly over the years. They consider that we get a lot of subsidies, which is not the reality,” he said.

The government currently provides subsidies of 3-5 per cent on exports of jute yarn and twine and jute sacking, he added.

Tapash acknowledged that Bangladeshi jute goods exports to India had declined, but said overall shipments of natural fibre-based products were unlikely to fall further.

Bangladesh’s export earnings from jute and jute goods have fluctuated considerably in recent years, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data.

The country earned $1.16 billion from jute and jute goods exports in fiscal year 2020-21, before the figure dropped to $820 million in FY25.

Exports subsequently recovered by 8 per cent year-on-year to $884 million in FY26, indicating a partial rebound in overseas demand for the country’s natural fibre products.

The additional duties imposed by India now present a further challenge for exporters seeking to sustain that recovery, particularly in the yarn and twine segment, where shipments by unlisted producers face the highest levy.