BJMC mills set to breakeven by July

FE Team | Published: April 21, 2011 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Talha Bin Habib
State-run jute mills are set to reach a breakeven point by July as the factories are now making profits by reducing annual losses, officials said. The government has set a deadline to breakeven the mills by July by wiping out decades of losses. The mills under the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) racked up a profit of Tk 83.2 (8 crore 32 lakhs) million in March, up from Tk 21.6 million in February. Sale of jute goods has increased in recent days after government agencies are purchasing products from BJMC, which is helping the ailing jute sector to regain its past glory. "If the present trend continue, then it will be possible for us to breakeven even before July," Textiles and Jute Secretary Md Ashraful Moqbul told the FE Wednesday. Some 17 jute mills operate under the BJMC, which are making profits after some pragmatic steps taken by the ministry, he said. The BJMC-run jute mills incurred massive losses due to mismanagement and decentralisation of the mills by the post-1975 governments. The cumulative losses have reached about Tk5.50 (550 crore) billion. But in 2008-09 fiscal the mills managed to cutback losses by Tk 3.12 (312 crore) billion, which further came down to Tk 1.93 billion in 2010 fiscal. The losses now stand at only Tk 100 million in the current fiscal 2010-11, a high official of the Textiles and Jute Ministry told the FE. The government had earlier formulated the 'Jute Packaging Mandatory Act 2010, making compulsory for using of jute goods by all. The Textiles and Jute and the Forest and Environment ministries have taken a decision this month to popularise jute use. Four government organisations will purchase a huge quantity of jute sacks from the government jute mills this fiscal as per the decision, officials said. The BJMC has already received an order worth Tk 1050 (105 crore) million from the Department of Food (DoF) and Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) to supply about 15 million jute sacks. The BJMC will also sell jute sacks to Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) and Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC) this fiscal.