Report March 2026

As predicted, the jute supply situation has worsened significantly. From the WGC Jute Market Report published 2nd February, both Jute Mills and Jute Spinners Associations report severe shortages. Supply remains far below demand, pushing raw material prices to record levels. Due to scarcity and soaring prices, mill owners warn they may shut down, leading to unemployment, deterioration of law and order, and broader negative impact on the economy.

Limited supply and sharply escalating prices disrupt market operations. Sources confirm supplies of high quality Tossa have almost vanished, causing growing concern. Our niche market should also be worried. Not just for 2026, but also coming seasons. A major tropical cyclone could push an already worrying situation to disaster. Jute rope prices are predicted to only go up. For everyone.

For this year we prepared and filled our storage sheds by paying the going price at the optimum moment, trying to stay ahead of the expected curve. However, being the only state-of-the-art jute yarn producer with zero JBO in our mill, sales to the wider market have boomed, and our raw material consumption rate is far higher than anticipated.

There are several Japanese rope corporations. Our partner the only one involved in manufacturing jute yarn and cordage. The JBO farm rope sourced from high street general rope stores in Japan is manufactured in China. Others also source from Bangladesh – where the best jute fibre grows, or from India.

Rope spools are heavy and expensive to ship around the world. Precisely why we set up regional distribution in Australia for Oceania, Canada, UK and USA. We’re now discussing expansion to China, Japan and South America.

Bangladesh benefits from the Generalised System of Preferences scheme through its status as a Least Developed Country. It’s expected to lose this status end 2026, but the EU may extend a 3–year transition period until late 2029.

For the UK under the Developing Countries Trading Scheme, Bangladesh continues to enjoy duty–free access even after 2026. Japan recently extended GSP privileges for former LDCs until 2029. Canada offers Bangladesh preferential market access through the General Preferential and Least Developed Country Tariff programs, with reduced or duty–free entry for many products. Bangladesh enjoys duty–free access as an LDC for all products exported to Australia.

The US GSP program for Bangladesh remains suspended. Reinstatement subject to ongoing talks. Since 2025 jute products from Bangladesh entering the USA are subject to higher duties because of new ‘reciprocal’ tariffs (does this mean Bangladesh taxes non–existent US jute?). We have no idea what these are on a day–to–day basis.

It’s critical for potential US customers to understand pricing in their home market may seem expensive compared to elsewhere. But please be aware, if ordering from outside the USA, tariffs will still be charged at point of import. It’s far more economical to order from our US distributor, Clean Rope Company.

Although the reasons we produce in Bangladesh are because that’s where the best jute grows, skilled jute workers are readily available and far more economical, and shipping to headquarters in Japan and secondary export has no logic, it’s also due to global tariff structures.

For Indian product, the EU and Japan offer reduced tariffs. The US terminated India’s GSP benefits in 2019 because of market access issues. Since 2025 jute rope imported into the USA from India is subject to much higher additional tariffs.

Tariffs are a barrier to trade, affecting the price customers pay for product as costs are passed on. Sustained, they lead to lower demand as markets seek alternatives. Tariffs only make sense when one nation attempts to protect itself from cheap imports of products competing against those made domestically, eg. Bangladesh and India. Never forget, jute long enough for cordage does not grow anywhere else but in Bengal.