Jute sector in deep trouble

All of this, ironically, but not so surprisingly, given our conflictual management culture, is happening at the peak jute procurement season.

This year's raw jute output is estimated at 35 lakh bales, 10 lakh bales short of the annual average, the slump being ascribed to unfavourable weather conditions. The current shortfall in raw jute output has led to an increase in its price: Tk 1000 per maund compared with only Tk 470 earlier in the season.

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Aside from the price pressure which basically has to do with higher costs of production, there has been also, collaterally, a deficit in the quality of jute. It is crucial for the manufacturing units that they have a steady supply of good quality fibre to turn out export quality products.

On all these counts, the jute mills under BJMC have suffered this year, but quite clearly not so much because of the objective conditions as unfortunately due to human factors. A rift between the top brasses of the BJMC caused poor inventorying in several mills with their production schedules being upset for lack of timely purchase and stockpiling of raw jute. While the BJMC chairman and its director, purchase wrangled over the procurement price that the former would allow, the latter seemed to have purchased some 'poor quality' jute. Caught in the middle, the jute mills were impelled to stop production. This begs the obvious question: why didn't the jute ministry intervene to have the issue settled in good time for the mills to operate?

Jute minister Shahjahan Siraj reportedly told the parliament on Tuesday that the mills shuttered down primarily because of lack of timely availability of funds but no less owing to the failure of BJMC to purchase jute even after money was made available.

The matter is being probed, we are told. But does it not reflect on the poor policy and material support from the government for the jute sector?

We understand three committees have been formed presumably to go into the recurrent questions of bank-rolling, input support for stepping up jute production with a focus around quality, pricing, procurement, internal consumption, product diversification and export. Disinvestment of losing public sector mills is also at issue. One wonders, whether the best of ideas for revitalising the jute sector are not already in the book crying for implementation. Why the committees then? What point there is in adding to the literature of recommendations?