Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation
Profile
- Head
- —
- Role
- Chairman
- Annual budget
- —
- Staff
- 2634
- Established
- 1972
- Legal basis
- Bangladesh Industrial Enterprises (Nationalisation) Order, 1972 (President's Order No. 27 of 1972), Article 10
BJMC is executing a full privatisation of its 25 mills through long-term leases to private operators: 14 mills handed over as of April 2026 (6 more in process), with 9 mills actively producing and employing ~7,200 workers as of National Jute Day (March 6, 2026); BJMC retains its role as monitoring body to enforce lease compliance rather than direct production; the corporation itself continues to incur losses (Tk 180 crore in FY2024-25) and its 2,634 residual staff went eight months unpaid (March-October 2025); workers and labour groups are contesting the privatisation model.
Recent activity
- 2026-03-06 statement State Minister for Commerce, Industries, Textiles and Jute Md Shariful Alam announced at a National Jute Day-2026 press conference at Bangladesh Secretariat that 9 leased BJMC mills had been reopened under private management, employing approximately 7,200 workers; theme of the day was 'Develop the jute industry, create employment'. ↗↗
- 2026-04-01 reform BSS reported 14 of 25 BJMC mills had been formally handed over to private lessees, with around 7,500 workers employed in leased mills producing approximately 120 metric tons of jute goods daily; leasing process for six additional mills was ongoing; officials projected 20,000 jobs to be created in leased mills by December 2026. ↗
- 2026-02-01 controversy Workers of the defunct Amin Jute Mill in Chattogram demanded resignation of Textiles and Jute Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin and cancellation of all privatisation measures, arguing leasing to private parties violates workers' rights and fails to clear years of unpaid dues; they issued a seven-day ultimatum to clear arrear payments. ↗
- 2025-12-07 other BJMC Officers and Employees Unity Council held a gate meeting at BJMC headquarters demanding budget allocation for regular salaries; 2,634 remaining staff (1,122 officers, 1,512 employees) had gone unpaid from March through October 2025 despite government absorbing salary burden post-July 2020 closure; Tk 941 million was requested from Ministry of Finance to clear arrears. ↗↗
Provenance & notes
BJMC was formed on 26 March 1972 under PO 27 of 1972 to supervise ~78 jute mills nationalised at independence; mill count consolidated over decades to 25 operational units by the time the government closed all production on 1 July 2020, laying off more than 25,000 permanent and 32,000+ temporary workers with golden handshake payments of up to Tk 54 lakh per person. BJMC has since pivoted from production management to lease compliance monitoring. Current head (Chairman): the official BJMC website referenced a new appointment on 04/12/2024 but the name could not be verified from publicly available sources as of May 17, 2026; current_head left null pending verification. Staff count of 2,634 (1,122 officers + 1,512 employees including those on post-retirement leave) is sourced from the Ministry of Textiles and Jute request to Ministry of Finance (Financial Express, 2025); this is distinct from the 25,000+ production workers who were retrenched in 2020. Annual budget BDT: BJMC does not publish a formal annual budget as a revenue-earning entity; the figure 'over Tk 180 crore loss in FY2023-24' and 'Tk 137 crore salary expenditure' are from TBS/Daily Star citing Bangladesh Economic Review and BJMC internal data. The Tk 10,000 crore in outstanding mill bank loans is a pre-closure figure reported by TBS and The Daily Star citing government documents; not cleared as of May 2026. Textiles and Jute Adviser (interim government): Sheikh Bashir Uddin (took oath 10 November 2024) oversees the ministry; State Minister Md Shariful Alam (from the BNP-led government formed February 2026) made the 7,200-jobs statement at National Jute Day 2026. Lease structure: 5-20 year terms, extendable; lessees permitted to produce both jute and textile products in the mills.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Jute_Mills_Corporation
- https://bjmc.gov.bd
- https://motj.gov.bd/site/page/e5df41b8-d826-4bb0-8a7c-9c5ff7b782bb/BJMC
- https://www.bssnews.net/news-flash/379951
- https://dailynewnation.com/news/808752
- https://www.bssnews.net/others/381217
- https://www.bssnews.net/js-session/381577
- https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/govt-to-lease-closed-jute-mills-to-private-sector-adviser-1739206657
- https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/239940/operations-of-25-state-owned-jute-mills-to-go
- https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/industry/jute-mills-closed-mounting-loans-weigh-bjmc-509270
- https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/mills-shut-yet-bjmc-incurring-losses-3078641
- https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade/over-2600-bjmc-staff-await-eight-months-unpaid-wages
- https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/corporates/bjmc-staff-demand-unpaid-salaries-and-gratuity-payments-1303646
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/amin-jute-mill-workers-demand-resignation-jute-adviser-cancellation-privatisation-measures
- https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/industry/seven-more-jute-mills-going-private-450254
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/privatisation-revived-jute-industry-minister-426078
- https://www.newagebd.net/post/country/256245/4-soes-in-bangladesh-count-tk-28238cr-in-losses-in-28-years