India imposes fresh anti-dumping duties on Bangladesh jute goods

India has imposed anti-dumping duties of up to $445 per tonne on jute products from Bangladesh, including jute yarn/twine, even as overall shipments to the country have declined in recent years, according to a notification by its finance ministry.

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

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

Read more

India seeks to continue anti-dumping duties on Bangladesh’s jute products

The DGTR initiated the review in June 2025 following an appeal by the Indian Jute Mills Association and the AP Mesta Twine Mills Association, which sought to determine whether the anti-dumping duties on jute products from Bangladesh and Nepal needed to be enhanced.

It sought responses from 54 millers in Bangladesh and 36 in Nepal. Of them, 38 Bangladeshi and five Nepali mills responded.

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

The duties were later expanded to cover jute sacking cloth from Bangladesh, leading to a slump in shipments to what was one of the country's largest markets for jute goods.

In its latest measure, issued on September 24, India's finance ministry listed 36 Bangladeshi jute goods makers and imposed duties on jute yarn/twine, sacking bags and hessian fabrics, with rates starting from $59 per tonne.

Of the listed firms, Asha Jute Industries Ltd, which exports jute yarn/twine, faces the lowest duty at $59 per tonne, according to the notification.

Seventeen Bangladeshi firms 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 -- were exempted from duties across all product categories they export.

Two additional producers -- Natore Jute Mills and Janata Jute Mills -- secured a zero rate for sacking bags and hessian fabric.

Jute yarn/twine shipments by any producer outside the 36 listed firms will attract a duty of $445 per tonne, the notification said.

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

This indicated that foreign producers were gaining market share at the expense of Indian mills, it said.

According to the report, Bangladesh's jute goods exports to India fell 18 percent year-on-year to 1.17 lakh tonnes in fiscal year 2024-25.

Tapash Pramanik, chairman of the Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association (BJSA), termed the latest measure "one-sided" and "coercive".

"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.

At present, the government provides 3-5 percent subsidy on yarn/twine and jute sacking, he added.

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

Bangladesh fetched $1.16 billion from jute and jute goods exports in FY21, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). Shipments later declined to $820 million in FY25. Exports recovered 8 percent year-on-year to $884 million in FY26.