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Download PDF Jute farmers in Rangpur and adjacent districts have been incurring heavy losses — around Tk 100 to Tk 150 a maund, as demand for the fibre saw a sharp fall.
After surveying different markets in the region, it was found that a maund of the finest quality tossa jute (golden) is now selling at only Tk 550 to Tk 600 while the local variety (white) is selling at Tk 400 to 440.
“I sold 33 maunds of jute for Tk 17,160, when my cost of production was Tk 19,730,” lamented Momin Ali, a farmer from West Khashbagh in Rangpur sadar upazila.
Another farmer from Joyrampur of Mithapukur upazila in Rangpur, Nirmol Mohanta, said he also incurred losses when he was able to make only Tk 7,980 by selling 19 maunds of local variety jute, which cost him Tk 10,200 to produce.
The sluggish trend in the regional jute markets is partly due to closure of a number of jute procurement centres in Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Nilphamari and Rangpur districts, said an official at Department of Jute in Rangpur requesting anonymity.
While many jute procurement centres closed their doors following the recent closure of state-run jute mills in the area, others are incapable of making purchases due to fund shortage or failure to renew their licences, said sources at the Rangpur jute department.
Another contributing factor that is having a negative impact on the jute markets is that many jute traders, who used to purchase jute from farmers and supplied it to jute mills, are no longer able to continue jute trading this year. Many of them are out of funds as the jute mills still owe them the payment for the goods delivered last year.
Moktarur Rahman from Mahiganj, who supplies jute to Latif Bawani Jute Mills, said, “I did not receive my outstanding bill of about Tk 35 lakh from the mill. The condition is similar for other suppliers in the northern districts.”
“They cannot purchase jute this year due to shortage of funds. And this has affected the market severely,” he explained.
Some jute traders are simply not interested in jute anymore as they had incurred heavy losses last year.
Jute dealer Abdul Awal from Rangpur is among those who had to sell jute last year at prices lower than the prices of procurement. That loss made him decide not to trade jute this year.
Abul Kashem, assistant director of Department of Jute in Rangpur, however, disagreed with the impression that jute farmers are not getting right price for their produce. He argued that superior quality jute is being sold from Tk 650 to Tk 800 at different markets including Pirgachha and Kaunia upazilas of Rangpur, Ulipur of Kurigram, and Kamarpara and Bamondanga of Gaibandha.
The government would soon pay off the outstanding bills of jute suppliers. Moreover, this year the jute mills will pay cash for jute, he added.
A jute supplier from Baderganj, Abdul Hye, showed his interest to supply jute to the mills this year to take advantage of cash payment, but he was not sure how he would arrange funds for the procurement.
According to Department of Agricultural Extension, around 70,000 hectares of land in greater Rangpur and Dinajpur districts have been brought under jute cultivation this year.
September 1st, 2007 at 11:45 pm
There was such a hue & cry about the enormous help
yunus provides through Krisi Bank If he is so kind as his Volumenous praises heard, cannot he provide short term loans to these needy Merchants without interests.
People do not want killing a cow to make a pair of shoes!