Bangladesh's 'golden fibre' comes back from the brink
Jute, a vegetable fibre that can be spun into sackcloth, used to be the 'golden fibre' of Bangladesh. It brought much needed foreign income to the impoverished nation.
But it lost its lustre in the 1980s after synthetic materials like polythene and plastics were introduced.
Now the natural fibre has made a spectacular come back.
Exports of jute and jute products from Bangladesh this fiscal year crossed a record billion dollars as the demand for the natural fibre is steadily increasing.
Anbarasan Ethirajan reports from northern Bangladesh.