Biratnagar, Aug. 23 -- Jute was once the dominant cash crop of eastern Tarai. Fields of tall, golden stalks once stretched across Morang, Sunsari, and Jhapa, feeding dozens of factories and powering the region's economy.

Today, the picture is starkly different. Production has collapsed, cultivation is vanishing, and Nepal's jute industry survives on imported raw materials from India and Bangladesh.

The reversal is striking. In the past, raw jute from Nepal's eastern plains was exported to India. But now, nearly three quarters of the raw jute consumed by Biratnagar's mills must be brought in from across the border.

"We import raw jute worth about Rs3 billion annually and re-export finished products worth more than Rs7 billion, mostly ba...