The government should go for immediate action against the hoarders and middlemen engaged in increasing the price of raw jute through a strong syndication across the country.
These organised thugs will have to be handled with an iron hand in order to bring the price of raw jute under control as they continued storing raw jute and creating volatility in the market deliberately.
Otherwise, the jute industries and factories now reeling from the impact of Covid-19 crisis will be affected badly.
The government may conduct mobile
court drives to check the illegal
hoarding of raw jute
It seems unusual that one maund of raw jute is now being sold at Tk 5,200 up from Tk 2,200-2,400 in the July-August period last year. This is the highest ever price of the golden fiber in the country’s history.
As raw jute price spiral went out of control fuelled by a supply shortage, demand for various finished jute products has declined sharply. Reportedly, the price of finished jute products has also increased by 25-30 percent.
Government should take necessary steps to identify why the raw jute price is going up and who are behind the unholy nexus of the syndicate.
The country’s entrepreneurs are struggling to keep their mills and factories running due to the scarcity of raw jute. Therefore, the jute ministry should take immediate steps to thwart any attempt by the unlicensed traders to get involved in sales, purchase or hoarding of raw jute. In this regard, the government may conduct mobile court drives to check the illegal hoarding of raw jute.