Textile and Jute Minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak has said that efforts will be made to take the export earnings of jute and jute products to an enviable level.
The minister made these remarks on Tuesday during an exchange meeting with the senior officials of Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation at Karwan Bazar in Dhaka.
He said: “I am thinking about the current crisis in the jute industry and trying to understand the problems. A quick action plan will be developed and implemented to restore the jute industry to its former glory.”
The jute minister also said: “Some effective initiatives will be taken to increase the export of diversified jute products, instead of relying solely on garment products as export items.
“The government wants to restore jute to its traditional position. For this, the prime minister will make all-out efforts, and she has already brought up the matter of the jute industry in the cabinet,” he also added.
He said: “There are many problems in the jute industry, which we are trying to understand and resolve. Efforts will be made to talk with the farmers to solve these issues.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, all efforts will continue to build a Smart Bangladesh through the implementation of Vision-2041,” he said.
At this time, Abdur Rauf, secretary of the ministry, said: “Some 17 of the jute mills have been leased out. Of them, five jute mills are in production and exporting under private management. Among our jute mills, two foreign companies have invested directly with 100% ownership, and another company from Taiwan is interested in investing. Things are moving forward and discussions have been held with them.”