Abstract
The study was conducted on jute farmers and jute marketing actors in Bangladesh. It was
carried out to assess the value chain of jute fiber. From Dinajpur, Faridpur, Rangpur,
Kishoreganj, Khulna and Dhaka districts, a total of 48 input suppliers and 90 growers of
jute were selected purposively. There were small traders who were Faria and Bepari; other
category was large traders who were Aratdar and kutcha baler. Faria, Bepari, Aratdar, Kutcha
baler, Pucca baler and miller were selected a total of 40, 40, 23, 15, 29 and 14, respectively.
Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics using SPSS program. Marketing cost for
farmer, Faria, Bepari, Aratdar, Kutcha balers and Pucca balers and miller were 31.73
Tk./quintal, 124.3 Tk./quintal, 155.24 Tk./quintal, 160 Tk./quintal, 270 Tk./quintal and
450 Tk./quintal respectively. Value addition for Farmer, Faria, Bepari, Aratdar, Kutcha balers
and Pucca balers were 569 Tk./quintal, 174 Tk./quintal, 215 Tk./quintal, 220 Tk./quintal,
330 Tk./quintal and 1061 Tk./quintal, respectively. Net marketing margin of Farmer, Faria,
Bepari, Aratdar, Kutcha balers and Pucca balers were 537 Tk./quintal, 50 Tk./quintal, 60
Tk./quintal, 60 Tk./quintal, 60 Tk./quintal and 611 Tk./quintal respectively. Key factors
and outcomes of governance were the balanced relationships of power among all the
actors. Price of jute fiber was determined by the bargaining power among the actors. The
value chain of jute was seller driven where trader, miller, processors, marketers, retailers,
etc. specified the product. Information flowed among the actors of jute value chain was
mostly by mobile. Relationship among all the actors of jute was fair. The trust level was
high among the actors. Sometimes the product transaction cost was paid later. Most of the
contracts done by actors within the chain were written. Very few contracts were made by
mutual understanding. Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) analyzed the competitive
status of jute and jute products of Bangladesh compared to other countries. Porter
Diamond Model found out the six factors of jute competitiveness. These were a) factor
condition, b) demand condition, c) related and supporting industries, d) firm strategy,
structure and rivalry, e) government support and policy and f) chance factors. The most
constraining factors found in the jute sectors of Bangladesh were availability of unskilled
labour, cost of crime, electricity supplies, labour policy, cost of infrastructure, and trust in
the politicians. On the other hand the most enhancing factors were competition in the
international market, quality of infrastructure, availability of transport, competition in local
markets. Revealed comparative advantages of jute and jute products of Bangladesh were
1316.16, 1233.61, 1212.60, 1115.31, 824.16, 808.23, and 780.33 from 2005 to 2011, respectively
which were higher than any other major jute exporting countries implying that export
competitive status of jute and jute products of Bangladesh was very strong. SWOT analysis
was used to find out the constraint and strength of jute and jute products. Problem
confrontation index (PCI) analyzed the problems in jute sector. Major problems identified
for jute farmers were high price of inputs such as seed and fertilizer, scarcity of retting
water at harvest time, lack of storage facilities and poor linkage with value chain actors. On
the other hand, major problems identified for marketing actors were high transportation
cost, lack of credit facilities, high shipment cost and price and demand fluctuations. Major
recommendation for policy guidelines in jute fiber value chain was to increase production
of quality jute fiber and enlarge local market to increase jute product which will ultimately
increase jute fiber demand.