Business Desk :
Saiful Islam cultivates jute on eight bighas of land. He and other farmers are now staring at heavy losses in the wake of the government’s sudden decision to shut production at 26 state-owned jute mills amid the coronavirus crisis.
“Why are they preventing us from earning our bread by closing down the jute mills?” asked Saiful, a disgruntled farmer from Pabna’s Chatmohar.
According to government data, at least 4 million farmers in the country cultivate jute. The jute industry contributes 0.26 per cent of the country’s GDP, making up 1.4 percent of the agricultural output.
At present, around 750,500-800,000 hectares of land are used to produce 800,000 bales of jute fibre in the country. Jute is harvested in most districts with Pabna producing the golden fibre in 20,000 hectares of land this year, reports bdnews24.com.
“Last year I sold jute for Tk 2,100 per maund and increased production this year hoping to earn more. Now I hear that the price has dropped. What will I do now?” wondered Saiful. Faridpur district has the highest jute cultivation with farmers harvesting the fibre on 84 hectares of land.
All 19 jute mills in the district are privately owned, 13 of which are currently in operation. One of the biggest private jute mills in the country, ‘Karim Jute Mill’ is situated in Faridpur. It also houses Partex Group’s jute mill.
Farmers have increased jute production this year after getting a good price for the product last year, said Kartik Chandra Chakrabarty, the deputy director of Faridpur Department of Agricultural Extension. The crops are yet to be harvested, he said.
Farmers have begun harvesting jute but the products are yet to go on sale, according to Gopal Krishna Das, the deputy director at Rajbari Department of Agricultural Extension.
