The government is not going to restrict export of raw jute as it aims to increase receipts from such foreign trade and ensure fair prices of the natural fibre, said Textiles and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi yesterday.

The disclosure came at a time when raw jute is being traded at a record high of around Tk 3,500 per maund, with millers warning that high prices and shortages might affect production and export of goods made out of it.

Jute has been one of the bright items in the export basket that saw just below 1 per cent increase in earnings in the July-November period of fiscal 2020-21.

Export earnings from jute and jute goods soared 37 per cent year-on-year to $553 million in fiscal 2020-21.

Raw jute export edged up nearly 1 per cent to $71 million in the July-November period from that in the same period a year ago, data from the Export Promotion Bureau showed.

Dastagir, at a meeting with representatives of Bangladesh Jute Association (BJA) at Bangladesh Secretariat, said the government was working to increase production, domestic consumption and export of raw jute and jute products.

He said new versatile products such as charcoal, composite jute textile, jute geo-textile were made from jute and the government has declared 282 types of jute products as diversified jute goods.

Abdul Barik Khan, secretary general of Bangladesh Jute Mills Association, said prices of raw jute are now Tk 3,500 per maund.

And because of scarcity and high prices, production and export activities may be affected in the coming months, he added.