State-owned sugar companies in Bangladesh are incurring losses year by year, according to daily industry news.
According to economists, these losses are unusual and occur due to inefficiency and corruption. The government should hand over these mills to the private sector to reduce losses.
According to the local media reports, the increased cost of running the mills is increasing and bank loan interest causes more losses. Shampur sugar mill has incurred a loss of Tk 606 crore by selling Tk 206 crore sugar in a year. Another sugar mill Zhil Bangla Sugar Mills has sold Tk 36 crore and has incurred a loss of Tk 56 crore. Both companies are listed on the stock exchanges.
Apart from these two mills, Panchagarh Sugar Mill, Setabganj Sugar Mill, North Bengal Sugar Mill, Pabna Sugar Mill, Mobarakganj Sugar Mill, Faridpur Sugar Mill, Thakurgaon Sugar Mill, Rajshahi Sugar Mill, Natore Sugar Mill and Kushtia Sugar Mill are on the list of loss-making organisations.
AB Mirza Azizul Islam, a prominent economist and former caretaker government advisor said that the mills make losses three times higher than the sales. The factories have become older; the quality of sugarcane is poor resulting in low sugar output. Along with this corruption and inefficiency lead to an increase in losses, he said.
