Jute traders demand payment of dues before Eid

Bangladesh Small Jute Traders Association (BSJTA) threatened on Sunday to wage a tough movement if the government fails to pay outstanding dues before the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.

"We demand that the government clear the dues totalling Tk 5.0 billion before Eid," BSJTA general secretary Md Harun-Or-Rashid said at a sit-in programme in front of the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) in the city.

Around 500 small traders had supplied jute wroth around Tk 5.0 billion to 22 state-run jute mills through 65 jute purchasing centres across the country but are yet to receive the payments, he said.

"We are yet to get the money from the BJMC. Small jute traders have been passing a hard time because of financial crunches over the last three years," he said.

"If our demand goes unheeded, we will go for a though movement like blockade of road and railways after Eid," he warned.

Contacted, a high official of the BJMC said the corporation has already sent a letter to the ministry of textiles and jute (MoTJ) seeking approval from the finance ministry for the allocation of funds for payment to small jute traders.

He said the BJMC has also been facing financial crunches as jute goods worth over Tk 5.5 billion remained stockpiled at its mills.

Besides, export of jute goods to Middle East countries is now facing difficulties because of civil war in Syria and US-imposed sanctions on Iran, he added.

talhabinhabib@yahoo.com