Rope and twine making

About the business

Twisting jute fibre into rope and twine is old work in rural Bangladesh, and it survives because demand has not gone away. Rope is needed to tie sacks, pack goods, bind courier parcels, weave beds and chairs, tether cattle, moor boats, and on brick kiln and construction sites. The raw material is domestic, and that is the real advantage here. On 15 September 2026 raw jute in Satkhira was selling at Tk 3,200-3,700 a maund by grade, which is roughly Tk 86-99 a kilo, while on 16 September 2026 finished jute rope and twine was listed online at Tk 390 a kilo. That gap is the business - but wages, fibre waste, transport and the wholesaler's commission all come out of it. The work can start small: twine can be twisted on a hand-cranked wheel in a courtyard, while a motorised machine multiplies daily output. Jute arrives from July to September and is cheapest then. A maker who can buy in season and store a year's fibre earns more; one who buys at the haat every week rides the jute price up and down with it.

Unit economics

What you need to start

• A twisting wheel or motorised twisting machine, a combing device, weighing scales and winding frames. Machine prices could not be found in this research.Equipment
• Raw jute: on 15-09-2026 Satkhira prices were Tk 3,200-3,700 a maund by grade, roughly Tk 86-99 a kilo. One bale holds about 182 kg.Starting stock
• Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type. Issued in 3-5 working days and renewed yearly.Licence
• Judging fibre grade, twisting to an even thickness and finishing the ends. The work is not hard, but without practice the thickness wanders and buyers reject it.Skill
• Jute markets and village agents - weekly jute haats such as Patkelghata in Satkhira and Karmaja Chaturhat in Santhia, Pabna.Supplier
• Dry, roofed space - wet jute rots and loses colour, which cuts its price. Twisting also needs a long open run.Workspace

How the work is done

1. 1Decide the product first: thin twine for sacks and parcels, medium rope for tethering cattle and weaving beds, or thick rope for boats and construction. Each has a different buyer and a different price.
2. 2Pick your jute market. Patkelghata in Satkhira has a large jute market, and traders also buy village to village from farmers. Tk 500 a maund is about Tk 13 a kilo, so choosing the market is the first profit.
3. 3Buy jute between July and September. In Satkhira in 2025 a maund was Tk 3,400-3,500 at the start of the season and Tk 4,000-4,200 at the end. Buy as much as you can in season and store it dry.
4. 4Sort and clean the fibre. Price varies by grade, and rope twisted from poor fibre snaps - and a buyer who gets a snapped rope does not come back.
5. 5Set up production. A hand-cranked wheel works in a courtyard; a motorised twisting machine multiplies daily output. Starting by hand and moving to a machine as sales grow is the safer path.
6. 6Take the trade licence from the city corporation or municipality. Even a small home-based unit needs it to sell.
7. 7Find repeat buyers. Rice and fertiliser wholesalers, courier firms, brick kilns and construction contractors take the same quantity every month. Once that is regular, selling stops being a problem.
8. 8Sell the jute sticks separately if you process the plant yourself. In Satkhira a bundle of jute sticks fetches Tk 60-100.
9. 9Look for handicraft and export-facing buyers. Jute twine goes into bags, mats and home decor, where it earns more than plain rope.
10. 10Record how many kilos of fibre went in and how many kilos of rope came out of each batch. That waste figure is what tells you whether you are actually making money.

Sources

• সিটি কর্পোরেশন থেকে ট্রেড লাইসেন্স প্রাপ্তির ধাপ সমূহ

  Collected: 16 Sept 2026

  Supports: Starting capital · বাংলাদেশ

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