Announcing this the Textile and Jute Minister of Bangladesh Golam Dastagir Gazi said on Sunday that the state owned Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) will be provided 5000 crore Taka by the government to clear the arrears of workers. The Minister said that the mills will resume work later under the PPP or joint venture model.
Golam Dastagir said that the just mills will be modernized in line with domestic and global demand. He said that the machinery of these mills is 60-70 years old and their production capacity has come down to zero.
The government has announced that 25 thousand jute workers affected by the shut down of factories will be given the benefits of a voluntary retirement scheme.
The jute industry in Bangladesh is critically dependent upon exports which contributes close to 80 percent of its income. However, in recent times the international market has shrunk due to falling demand in India and Turkey which were its two major markets.
Bangladesh is a major global supplier of Jute products. In volume terms it contributed close to 80 percent of global demand in 2018. On an average, the country produces 1.5 million tonnes of Jute per year with a combined share of above 90 percent of global production.
Rajesh Jha/ Dhaka