BJMA wants level playing field for private, public jute mills

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FE Report
The Bangladesh Jute Mills Association (BJMA) in its meeting Thursday urged the government to create a level playing field for both private and public jute mills as discriminatory policies will adversely affect the private jute goods manufacturers.
The government has recently decided to provide Tk 3.38 billion financial assistance to the public sector jute mills under the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC).
BJMA leaders fear that this sort of discriminatory policy in terms of providing financial assistance will compel the private sector mills to close down rendering thousand of workers unemployed.
The BJMA leaders said the successive governments since 1990-91 have been adopting discriminatory policies for jute sector hurting the private sector mills under the BJMA resulting in closures and lay-offs.
Consequently, the country's export of jute goods might dwindle further and that would only benefit the competitors in other countries.
"We (private mills) and public mills are procuring raw jute from the same market. We are providing attractive salaries and other fringe benefits. But it is unfortunate that public run mills are getting financial assistance. How will we run our mills under such discriminatory policies," said one front ranking leader of the BJMA.
The BJMA demanded the government should provide financial assistance equally to the private mills and the public sector in order to remove any inequality.
They said such a step will create a healthy competition, resulting in improved productivity and increased exports.
The executive committee of BJMA in its meeting also discussed about the reform proposals for the jute mills under BJMC announced by the Adviser for Textiles and Jute Geeteara Safiya Chowdhury at a press briefing held in the Ministry of Textiles and Jute July 18.