Though the government initiated two projects for diversification of two sugar mills at a cost the of Tk 8000 million seven years ago, no development is noticed showing sheer callousness of the concerned management to make the state-owned mills profitable.
This was stated at a human chain organised in the city by the Sugar Mills Children’s Forum, a platform of the children of the employees and sugar cane growers of the 16 sugar Mills.
They said that the sugar mills have been incurring losses due to mismanagement and corruption and as well as negligence of the concerned authorities.
The money injected in the MILLS was never utilised for modernisation or product diversification.
Rather lion’s share of the investment was plundered and none was made accountable for this.
“Whereas thousands of sugarcane growers and sugar mill workers are passing miserable days due to not getting salaries and arrears,” said an SMCF member.
And there was no drive to introduce high yield sugar cane in the country or to enhance the sugar recovery rate so far.
In Cuba and Indonesia, they produce at least 40 metric tonnes of sugar in one acre whether in our country the yield is only 15 tonnes.
On the other hand, the sugar recovery rate from sugarcane in our country is around 7 per cent but in those countries it is above 13 per cent.
They said the state-owned sugar mills are the only source of organic sugar in the country.
Instead of patronising these mills effort is on to close these mills which will lead the people to depend on inorganic sugar produced by the private refineries.
These refineries produce sugar from imported raw sugar and the value addition in this process is almost zero.
But value addition of the state-owned sugar mills is hundred per cent and nearly 5 million people’s livelihood is linked to these mills.
Closure of these mills is totally contradictory to the government’s policy of sustainable economic development.
These mills also generate huge employment, unlike private refineries.
Sole dependence on imported raw sugar will also create a monopoly for a certain quarter making the sugar market volatile.
Urging the government to start product diversification in the mills they said among the 16 mills, Carew and Company is making huge profit as it produces alcohol-based products along with sugar.
The same process needs to be followed for other mills to produce other products like alcoholic beverages.
They also argued that the production cost of sugar in the mills results from corruption and mismanagement.
Moreover, in our country, the buying price of sugar cane is set by the government which also contribute to the increased production cost.
But at the end of the day, these prices benefit the poor sugar cane farmers. The government is providing huge subsidy to Biman, Rail and BADC whereas thousands of employees of these mills remain unpaid for several months.
These triggers inhuman sufferings for them during this pandemic period, they added.
