UNB, Khulna :
Jute worth Tk 150 crore remains unsold in seven jute mills under the Bangladesh Jute Mill Corporation (BJMC) along the Khulna-Jessore belt. Stakeholders are pointing the finger of blame for the situation at BJMC’s ineptitude.
They now believe the only way to salvage the situation for the country’s state-owned jute industry is to break-up the BJMC into three zonal divisions.
Workers and leaders of the jute mills almost unanimously said that the crisis stems from BJMC’s inability to seek out markets for the mills to sell their products.
A K Hazari, project head of Crescent Jute Mill, said that they are suffering from a financial crisis as they could not sell their products worth Tk 40 crore. Selling those would allow the mill to pay its workers their arrears as well, he said.
Suvendru Kumar Ghosh, who heads up the Star Jute Mill, informed UNB that Tk 26 crore worth jute products remain unsold at his mill. Having run out of storage space, a portion of the jute is now being kept on the floor of the mill.
He identified two principal reasons for the jute produced by the mill he runs remaining unsold.
“The first reason is that the marketing department of BJMC (responsible for marketing activities of all the state-owned mills’ products) is failing to create foreign buyers, and secondly this is the dull season for selling jute,” Ghosh explained, adding that the dull season for jute lasts from February to May.
He however, expressed his optimism that normalcy will return to the jute market and sales will start picking up from June.
Prosanto Kuman Nandi, finance head of Eastern Jute Mill, said that they had around Tk 6 crore worth of products unsold. They failed to sell them in view of the ‘low demand’ for jute and jute goods at present.
Many stakeholders also pointed to India’s imposition of anti-dumping duty on jute imports from Bangladesh to protect its domestic industry, that came into effect this year only.
The unsold products at the other mills amount to TK 40 crore at Platinum Jute Mill; TK 18 crore at the Jessore Jute Industry; TK 8 crore at Carpeting Jute Mill; and TK 6 crore at Alim Jute Mill.
Platinum Jute Mill project head Tofael Ahmed said the value of goods lying unsold in the mill is equivalent to 30 weeks’ wages for his workforce.
Sohrab Hossain, general secretary of a collective bargaining association for workers of Crescent Jute Mill, severely criticized BJMC for its “inability to create new markets or hold on to the current ones even.”
He suggested that in order to turn things around in the sector, BJMC needs to shed its centralized, top-heavy structure and divide itself into three leaner, zonal bodies where each carries a lighter, more sensible load confined to its designated zone of production.
Jute worth Tk 150 crore remains unsold in seven jute mills under the Bangladesh Jute Mill Corporation (BJMC) along the Khulna-Jessore belt. Stakeholders are pointing the finger of blame for the situation at BJMC’s ineptitude.
They now believe the only way to salvage the situation for the country’s state-owned jute industry is to break-up the BJMC into three zonal divisions.
Workers and leaders of the jute mills almost unanimously said that the crisis stems from BJMC’s inability to seek out markets for the mills to sell their products.
A K Hazari, project head of Crescent Jute Mill, said that they are suffering from a financial crisis as they could not sell their products worth Tk 40 crore. Selling those would allow the mill to pay its workers their arrears as well, he said.
Suvendru Kumar Ghosh, who heads up the Star Jute Mill, informed UNB that Tk 26 crore worth jute products remain unsold at his mill. Having run out of storage space, a portion of the jute is now being kept on the floor of the mill.
He identified two principal reasons for the jute produced by the mill he runs remaining unsold.
“The first reason is that the marketing department of BJMC (responsible for marketing activities of all the state-owned mills’ products) is failing to create foreign buyers, and secondly this is the dull season for selling jute,” Ghosh explained, adding that the dull season for jute lasts from February to May.
He however, expressed his optimism that normalcy will return to the jute market and sales will start picking up from June.
Prosanto Kuman Nandi, finance head of Eastern Jute Mill, said that they had around Tk 6 crore worth of products unsold. They failed to sell them in view of the ‘low demand’ for jute and jute goods at present.
Many stakeholders also pointed to India’s imposition of anti-dumping duty on jute imports from Bangladesh to protect its domestic industry, that came into effect this year only.
The unsold products at the other mills amount to TK 40 crore at Platinum Jute Mill; TK 18 crore at the Jessore Jute Industry; TK 8 crore at Carpeting Jute Mill; and TK 6 crore at Alim Jute Mill.
Platinum Jute Mill project head Tofael Ahmed said the value of goods lying unsold in the mill is equivalent to 30 weeks’ wages for his workforce.
Sohrab Hossain, general secretary of a collective bargaining association for workers of Crescent Jute Mill, severely criticized BJMC for its “inability to create new markets or hold on to the current ones even.”
He suggested that in order to turn things around in the sector, BJMC needs to shed its centralized, top-heavy structure and divide itself into three leaner, zonal bodies where each carries a lighter, more sensible load confined to its designated zone of production.
