BTMC's jute mills incurred loss of Tk 31,68b in FY '21

The jute mills under the Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC) have incurred a loss of over Tk 31.68 billion (3,168.46 crore) in the fiscal year 2020-21, reports UNB.
Textiles and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi said this in Parliament responding to a question from Jatiya Party MP Moshiur Rahman Ranga on Thursday.
The jute mills earned over Tk 4.84 billion (484.48 crore) and spent Tk (3652.94 crore) during the period, he said.
Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury presided over the question and answer session.
The minister said out of 25 jute mills under BTMC, 24 were shut and one was rented out.
Textile villages are being set up on the premises of two of the closed 24 mills.
Replying to a query from Dhaka-18 constituency MP Mohammad Habib Hasan of the ruling party, Golam Dastagir Gazi said that at present (Census 2018) there are 589 weaving factories and 1,16,117 units in the country. The weaving industry produces about 474.7 million (47.47crore) metres of weaving cloth annually, which meets 28 per cent of the country's textile demand (excluding power looms), he said.
Replying to a question from Natore-2 MP Shafiqul Islam Shimul, the Minister said that at present the number of looms in the country stood at 290,282.
In reply to a query from MP Begum Lutfunnesa Khan, the Minister said 560 thousand (5.6 lakh) tonnes of raw jute were exported in the 8 months of the current fiscal year. Besides, 586 thousand (5.86 lakh) tonnes of raw jute and 782 thousand (7.82 lakh) tonnes of jute products were exported in the fiscal year 2020-21, he added.