Blockade takes toll on jute spinners

The ongoing countrywide blockade is causing widespread disruption to supply of raw jute, jute batching oil (JBO) and diesel to the factories, forcing jute spinners to cut production by 20,000 tonnes worth Tk 1.5 billion in last three weeks, insiders said.

Mohammad Shahjahan, chairman of Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association (BJSA), said supply of raw jute to the factories is being hampered seriously due to the non-stop blockade.

He said JBO is badly needed for processing jute while diesel for running the standby generators. "But supply of the two key inputs has declined drastically due to disruption in the transport system."

Mr Shahjahan said the factories have already curtailed their production. "Exports have also been affected as the factories are missing shipping deadlines due to suspension of production."

Many of the exporters have also stopped their operation as transport costs have doubled, he added.

If political turmoil continues, he said, the jute spinners will not be able to repay bank loans in time and many of them will become defaulters.

He said 250 jute factories in the country will face closure due to political unrest.

Jute yarn contributes 67 per cent of the export earnings from jute sector, he said, adding that jute spinning mills exported 0.56 million tonnes of products worth Tk 34 billion in last financial year.

Nearly 0.90 million people are employed in jute yarn sector, he said and urged both the ruling and opposition parties to resolve the current political crisis as early as possible.

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