Finance Minister AMA Muhith moves to remove problems facing country's raw-jute exporters who fell in deep financial crises for recurrent losses due allegedly to the government's wrong policies, officials said.
The minister has asked the secretary of the Bank and Financial Institutions Division (BFID), under his ministry, to sit with him on this matter to find a bailout.
"Something needs to be done about this matter. Discuss it (with me)," he wrote on a document the prime minister's office (PMO) forwarded to him recently.
Earlier, chairman of Bangladesh Jute Association (BJA) SK Syed Ali wrote to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina requesting her intervention for resolving the problems.
Mr Ali wrote that exporters had incurred significant financial losses due to the imposition of a ban on raw-jute export by the government unilaterally in fiscal year (FY) 1984-85, 2009-10 and 2015-16.
Besides, the political chaos created in FY 2013-14 also handed them big financial losses. The events of global financial crisis and high interest rates on bank loans have deepened their sufferings, he said.
In the letter he also mentioned that the volume of country's raw export declined to only one million bales from 2.8 million bales because of repeated ban imposed by the government in the past years. As a result, alongside the jute exporters, the farmers, various types of workers, and other people involved with the sector were hit hard.
The trade leader also wrote the ban on Bangladesh's raw jute export in FY 1984-85 led to closure of many jute factories in many countries. As a result, the raw-jute exporters, who already bought jute at Tk 700 to Tk 800 per maund, had to make a distress sale of the golden fibre locally at Tk 100 to Tk 150.
The same situation they faced in FY 2009-10 again when the government had slapped a ban on jute export.
After underselling raw jute the exporters incurred massive losses and defaulted on bank loan repayment. Many exporters were forced to leave the business while many facing cases filed by the banks under the Money Loan Court Act.
Continuing the narrative on jute-trade woes, Mr Ali said due to prolonged political chaos in 2013 many raw jute exporters could not carry out their business properly, which resulted in another blow to their financial state.
In this situation, the MoF asked the banks to keep the amount of five years' loan interests and in some cases principal of loan with raw-jute exporters in a block account. But the scheduled banks did not follow the order properly.
In FY 2015-16, the Ministry of Textiles and Jute imposed a ban on raw-jute export without consulting the exporters. The embargo has driven the last nail in the coffin of jute export, he said.
The exporters lost foreign buyers due to the sudden export ban alongside being forced to sell raw jute locally at low prices. They also have incurred significant financial losses due to high rates of bank loan interest, paying godown rent, insurance premium, and wages of workers.
Mr Ali demanded that entire outstanding loans of jute exporters be put in an interest-free block account, allowing them to pay back the money in 25 years. He also sought reimbursement of the money they paid as bank-loan interest during the last 10 years.
The BJA president also made a strong plea that there be no ban on export of raw jute in any situation. The BJA will supply necessary volume of jute if the BJMC needed.
He also demanded single-digit rate of bank-loan interest for the jute exporters.
 syful-islam@outlook.com
Muhith moves to remove jute exporters\' woes
Syful Islam | Published: November 21, 2016 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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