Gaibandha Growers Demand
Reopen Mohimaganj purchase centre to ensure fair jute price
Jute growers of Saghata and Gobindaganj upazilas are not getting fair price of raw jute as the only purchasing centre of BJMC (Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation) at Mohimaganj is yet to be opened this year.
The jute growers held a meeting at Mohimaganj Bazar on Wednesday demanding immediate reopening of the purchasing centre. They said if there is no initiative at government level to procure raw jute, they will be deprived of fair price of the cash crop.
Jute growers from distant areas bring their produce to Mohimaganj Bazar as it is famous for selling and purchasing raw jute in the area.
As the government is yet to start buying raw jute from the growers, they have to sell the item to the middlemen at nominal price.
Crescent Jute Mills under BJMC opened a purchasing centre at Mohimaganj last year and procured 13,000 maunds of raw jute. The centre was, however, shut down in off season and this year, the mills authorities, the growers alleged, have stopped procuring raw jute without assigning any reason.
We don't know what really happened behind the closure of the jute purchasing centre this season. We urged the authorities concern to reopen the centre so that the growers can get fair price by selling their produce to the government, said Rostam Ali, a jute trader of Mohimaganj Bazar.
Saghata and Gobindagnaj are main jute producing areas in Gaibandha district. Every year, traders purchase raw jute from the growers and supply them to Dhaka, Narayanganj and Khulna in boats and trucks, said local growers.
Local agriculture office sources said a total 6,350 hectares of land in Saghata upazila and 1,225 hectares of land in Gobindaganj upazila
have been brought under jute cultivation this season and total production is expected 9,000 tonnes.
If the government does not open purchasing centre, local jute growers will deprive of fair price and lose their interest in jute farming, said Abdul Latif Prodhan, chairman of Mohimaganj Union Parishad.
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