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There are 72 flour mills in Nitaiganj of Narayanganj. 35
mills there have closed in the past six months due to rising production costs.
Small and medium flour mills of the country are closing down
due to the instability of the wheat market in the world market and the decrease
in imports. In Narayanganj alone, the production of almost half of the mills
has stopped in the last six months. These mill owners say that due to the
instability of the world market, the production cost has increased on the one
hand, and the demand has decreased on the other hand. So the production of the
mill has been stopped to reduce the losses.
There are 72 flour mills in Nitaiganj of Narayanganj.
Production of 35 of these mills has been phased out since the start of the
Russia-Ukraine war last February. Active mill owners also say that if the wheat
price in the world market and the country's import situation are not normal,
there will be no option but to stop the production of some more mills. Because
it is difficult for small and medium quality mills to cope with the increased
cost pressure. A large part of this market is already in the possession of
large corporate organizations. It is very difficult for the little ones to
survive when unrest starts there.
Even though the mill was closed, in the last six months
(February-August), the price of flour in the market of Narayanganj has
increased to 16 taka and the price of flour has increased to 9 taka.
It is known that flour-flour/mayada-edible oil-sugar-salt and beef feed is one of the largest wholesale markets in Narayanganj's Nitaiganj mills. These flours are sold in bags of 50 kg and 74 kg. The mill owners sold the flour and flour/mayada produced in the mill after selling the imported wheat from different countries including Russia-Ukraine. Due to the Russia-Ukraine war, wheat imports have stopped and prices have risen, and these mills are struggling to maintain their businesses. Many workers have become unemployed as many mills have been closed down to reduce losses.
Last Thursday (August 25, 2022) it is known that the price
of Canadian wheat was Tk 900 per maund before the war. Now that price has increased
by two thousand . Russian wheat used to be sold at Tk 11,00 per maund, now it
is being sold at Tk 2,100. The price of wheat in Ukraine was 1 thousand taka
per maund, now it has increased to 1 thousand 600 taka. The price of wheat per
maund in India has also increased from Tk 1,500 to Tk 1,650. Apart from this,
the price of wheat in Australia, Brazil, Argentina is also increased.
Among the flower mills that have closed down in Nitaiganj in
the last six months are M/s Shilpi Flower Mill, M/s KB Flower Mill, M/s Yakub
Ali Flower Mill, M/s Arshi Flower Mill, M/s Mamun Flower Mill, M/s Raj Flower
Mill, M/s Mark Flower Mill, M/s Monty Flower Mill, M/s SS Flower Mill, M/s
Sheetal Flower Mill etc.
When asked, Mehdi Shahriar, the owner of M/s Monty Flower
Mill, said that his mill used to produce 60 to 80 tons of flour every day. Cost
of production has also gone up due to increase in wheat price, fuel cost and
car hire and labor wages. If the mill is kept open in this situation, the loss
has to be calculated. So I stopped the production.
Traders said that after buying wheat, it costs 35-40 taka
per sack to bring it to the mill. However, the big corporate organizations
involved in the business of this sector import millions of tons of wheat by
ship and break it with automatic machines, so their production cost is very
low. As they import and produce more, the cost of production also falls. Again
they deliver the produced flour directly to the consumer. Because of this, the
flower mill owners of Nitaiganj are not able to sustain the production cost
along with the corporate institutions. Because of this, small mills are closing
down.
Businessmen who did not wish to be named said that no
businessmen in Narayanganj import wheat. Traders from Dhaka and Chittagong
imported wheat. It has become very difficult to do business by buying wheat
from them at higher prices and competing with the corporates.
The wholesale flour and mayada market of Nitaiganj was seen,
before the war, flour was sold at Tk 30 per kg, now it has increased to 46
taka. Flour was sold at Tk 38 per kg six months ago, it is now selling at Tk
54.
Traders say that currently only wheat imported from India is
being milled. This is the first time wheat imported from India is being sold at
Nitaiganj mill.
|Source: Online/SZK
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