Fate of 4 closed potato flakes cos uncertain
Saturday, 1 May 2010
Fazlur Rahman
The fate of the country's four closed potato flakes companies is uncertain due to banks' persistent reluctance to finance them and lack of adequate government subsidy on exports, industry people said.
The four companies - Patwary Potato Flakes in Chandpur, Bangladesh Potato Flakes and Bikrampur Potato Flakes Industries in Munshiganj and Flamingo Agrotech in Joypurhat - started their journey in 1998 and went into production four years later.
The industry people said they started the business mainly to utilise the excess potato production in the country as the crushed flakes made from the round vegetable can be used two years later if packaged in poly-profile paper and five years later if packaged in aluminium foil bag.
The four factories, which employed around 10,000 workers directly and indirectly, have remained closed for the last five years due to lack of finance and higher potato prices, they said.
"The reduction in government cash subsidy from 30 per cent to 20 per cent particularly hit our business as it hampered the production. As a result, we failed to export our products to competitive international market, making the factories sick," said Abdul Awal Patwary, chairman of Patwary Potato Flakes.
The fall in export prices and Poland's admission into the European Union are two other major factors behind the closure of factories in Bangladesh, the industry people said.
The fate of the country's four closed potato flakes companies is uncertain due to banks' persistent reluctance to finance them and lack of adequate government subsidy on exports, industry people said.
The four companies - Patwary Potato Flakes in Chandpur, Bangladesh Potato Flakes and Bikrampur Potato Flakes Industries in Munshiganj and Flamingo Agrotech in Joypurhat - started their journey in 1998 and went into production four years later.
The industry people said they started the business mainly to utilise the excess potato production in the country as the crushed flakes made from the round vegetable can be used two years later if packaged in poly-profile paper and five years later if packaged in aluminium foil bag.
The four factories, which employed around 10,000 workers directly and indirectly, have remained closed for the last five years due to lack of finance and higher potato prices, they said.
"The reduction in government cash subsidy from 30 per cent to 20 per cent particularly hit our business as it hampered the production. As a result, we failed to export our products to competitive international market, making the factories sick," said Abdul Awal Patwary, chairman of Patwary Potato Flakes.
The fall in export prices and Poland's admission into the European Union are two other major factors behind the closure of factories in Bangladesh, the industry people said.