Plea to re-fix price of JBO

The ministry of textiles and jute (MoTJ) has requested the ministry of power, energy and mineral resources (MoPEMR) to re-fix the price of Jute Batching Oil (JBO), a petroleum by-product, to help the jute mills have smooth production.

In a letter dated February 17 the MoTJ requested the MoPEMR to take necessary steps to keep the previous price of JBO at Tk 68 per litre considering the overall situation of private and public jute mills in the country.

The MoTJ had earlier requested the MoPEMR to take measures but the latter are yet to inform the former what steps have been taken in this connection, the letter also said.   

Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) increased price of JBO by 61.71 per cent from February 4. The price of per litre JBO stood at Tk 110 from the previous price of Tk 67.70 per litre.

JBO is one of the basic raw materials for producing of jute goods. The government's move of increasing the price of JBO will help to increase the production cost and that is why the sector will incur further loss.

JBO is a petroleum by-product, which comes from the Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL), the country's lone fuel oil refinery. The jute mills use the oil to soften the raw jute to process.

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