The unused land of the country’s state-owned jute mills could be privatised in a bid to reduce escalating factory losses and accommodate private companies in the vacant spaces. Three of the 26 government-owned mills have been selected in the first phase of the plan: UMC Jute Mills Ltd in Dhaka, Forat-Karnafuli Carpet Factory in Chittagong, and The Crescent Jute Mills Co Ltd in Khulna. Currently, the state-owned jute mills are operating on around 1,200 acres of land under the BJMC’s supervision. Private mills more efficientIn addition to those factories under the government-run BJMC, there are around 200 mills operating under two other associations – Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association (BJSA) and Bangladesh Jute Mills Association (BJMA). According to the BJSA, the mills under the supervision of the two associations produce an average around 730,000 tonnes of jute and jute products annually.

Source: Dhaka Tribune July 14, 2017 19:18 UTC