Production at 23 private jute mills in the Khulna region will be suspended from Sunday due to an acute shortage of raw jute, mill owners said.
The shortage follows excessive rainfall during May and June that disrupted jute cultivation in Shariatpur, Madaripur and Gopalganj, leading to output far below expectations, according to millers.
Although the government imposed a ban on jute exports from 8 September to protect domestic mills, owners said the restriction has failed to stabilise supply or prices.
The Jute Mill Owners Association said mills are struggling to maintain operations as raw jute has become scarce and prices in local markets have surged abnormally, forcing the shutdown decision.
Despite the jute season beginning on 1 July, expected arrivals did not reach major trading centres in Daulatpur, Khulna and Narayanganj, the association said.
Supply pressure intensified after India imposed a ban on jute exports to protect its farmers, leaving Khulna-based exporters without alternative sourcing options, reports UNB.
Millers alleged that traders have taken advantage of the shortage by hoarding jute illegally in local markets, worsening the crisis.
With no export outlets and constrained domestic supply, prices rose sharply in markets including Chuknagar, Kapilmuni, Terokhada, Jhaudanga, Tala, Kalaroa and Parulia, limiting mills’ ability to procure raw materials.
In a letter to the government, the association said raw material shortages are pushing mills towards operational disruption, while abnormal price hikes driven by middlemen have created an artificial crisis.
Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association chairman Tapas Pramanik said hoarders are controlling the market and warned that prices could rise further due to manipulation by exporters.
Sarjit Sarkar, acting assistant director of the Jute Department in Khulna, said raw jute is currently selling at Tk4,800–Tk5,000 per maund in southern markets, although prices fell by about Tk200 per maund on Wednesday.
He said farmers typically do not hold stocks at home at this time of year.
Meanwhile, Mongla Custom House Assistant Commissioner Lopa Saha said in a letter dated 20 January that no jute exports were recorded from Mongla Port in the 2025–26 fiscal year.
