The Bangladesh Jute Traders Association (BJMC) has announced plans to protest against the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation over the Tk 2.65 billion they are owed for the supply of raw jute to the state-owned mills over the last four years.
The members of the association will stage a sit-in programme in front of the BJMC office in Dhaka on Tuesday, reports bdnews24.com.
State-owned jute mills racked up Tk 2.65 billion in dues to traders and farmers between fiscal year 2016-17 and 2019-20, Shamim Ahmed Morol, convener of the association, said in a news briefing on Sunday.
“Those of us who supplied raw jute to the state-owned mills, have marginalised farmers in our agencies. Most of our agencies have bank loans too.”
Their businesses are staring at closure due to the fund crunch brought about by the BJMC's failure to pay the arrears, according to Shamim.
Leaders of the association complained the BJMC was paying the salaries and allowances of their officials, workers and staff while ‘neglecting’ the dues to the raw jute suppliers.
“The BJMC recently earned Tk 3.32 billion by selling the jute products. They could pay the suppliers from that amount. We wrote to the BJMC chairman, but received no assurance,” said Tipu Sultan, one of the association's leaders.
The jute traders added that they submitted a memorandum to the prime minister on July 20, stating their plight.
“We’ll begin our protest on August 18. If needed, we’ll go for more rigorous programmes, including a hunger strike,” said Shamim.
At least four million farmers in the country cultivate jute, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension. The jute industry contributes 0.26 per cent of the country’s GDP, making up 1.4 per cent of the agricultural output.
At present, Bangladesh uses around 750,500-800,000 hectares of land to produce 800,000 bales of jute fibre.
At least 51 per cent of the jute fibre produced in the country is used in the jute mills, while 44 per cent is exported, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension.
Only 5 per cent of the produce is used by households and cottage industries.
The government had shut down all 26 loss-making jute mills under the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation in July.
The move would send about 25,000 workers into early retirement once their pay was settled under a scheme, euphemistically called a golden handshake.
The government plans to restart the mills after revamping operations under the public-private partnership (PPP).
But the leaders of the jute traders association warned that they will stop supplying raw jute to the mills once they reopen if the BJMC does not pay their dues.