Uncertainty over last jute mills
22/08/2008
Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) may be forced to close the country’s last 15 state-run factories because the government has yet to allocate funds for purchasing raw jute, while traders are unwilling to sell the fibre to BJMC on credit.
The livelihoods of over 60,000 mill workers are at risk, while jute farmers will incur losses because of a drop in the price of what Bangladesh once regarded as its “golden fibre”.
There used to be more than 77 state-run jute mills in Bangladesh, 10 of which have been shut down, four leased out, and 48 privatised.
Some observers have said that shutting down of the remaining 15 operational mills will be tantamount to hammering in the last nail in the coffin of the government-run jute sector.
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