Two state-sugar mills begin cane crushing

Two of the nine state-run sugar mills that are still operational began crushing sugarcane on December 11.

The two mills are North Bengal Sugar Mills and Natore Sugar Mills.

The rest seven will follow suit, according to a gazette notification from the government.

The notification came after the government recently announced that six mills under the Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC) would remain closed until further notice as part of a move to modernise the facilities and ensure their future economic viability.

But the remaining seven mills will continue operations as scheduled, BSFIC Chairman Sanat Kumar Saha told The Daily Star.

"We will implement our commitment to procuring sugar from farmers in the catchment areas of the temporarily closed mills. No worker will lose jobs," he said.

However, a vested quarter of workers who oppose the move are trying to block the sugarcane collection from farmers, he observed.

"This is because collective bargaining agent leaders are misleading the workers and farmers to create unstable situations inside the mills," Saha added.

The seven mills to resume operations as scheduled are Zeal Bangla Sugar Mills, Rajshahi Sugar Mills, Carew & Co (Bangladesh), Mobarakganj Sugar Mills, Faridpur Sugar Mills, Thakurgaon Sugar Mills, and Joypurhat Sugar Mills.

The six shuttered mills – Shyampur Sugar Mills, Pabna Sugar Mills,  Panchagarh Sugar Mills, Setabganj Sugar Mills, Rangpur Sugar Mills, and Kushtia Sugar Mills -- will undergo a Tk 5,000 crore modernisation project, which includes product diversification, according to a statement from the Ministry of Industries.

Workers at these mills would have the opportunity to get employed by the nine remailing mills, while the sugarcane farmers in the catchment areas could supply the other mills as well, it said.

The BSFIC will implement the project through a joint venture with investments from Thai Exim Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. It will also have the technical expertise of the Thailand-based Sutek Engineering Company.

The two banks began their feasibility studies on the state-run sugar mills, but progress has been slow due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the new plan, the BSFIC's distilleries will produce spirits and alcohols, bio-fertilisers and electricity as by-products of sugar production.

However, mill workers have demanded all the plants be kept running for at least this season to ensure that farmers can sell all of their produce.