Textiles and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi has said effective steps are being taken to reopen the state-owned jute mills that were closed down last year soon.

The mills would be reopened under private management on lease basis. The minister also added that international tenders have already been called in this regard.

He came up with these remarks while speaking to the press after joining the monthly coordination meeting of the ministry online on Wednesday afternoon.

The minister claimed that  jute farmers are currently  getting a fair price for raw jute as the value and demand of jute has increased across the world. The average price of raw jute in the current jute season is up to Tk 3,000, which is about 50 percent higher than last year, he added.

He also said that Bangladesh earned $953.56 million by exporting jute and jute-made products in  the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year 2020-21, which  is 22.94 percent more than the same period last year.

The growth is also around 10.64 percent higher than the target, the minister said.

He hoped that not only would the old workers be rehabilitated, but also new employment opportunities will be created once these privately run mills become operational.

On July 1 last year, 25 jute mills under the control of Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) were declared closed with the aim of creating a competitive environment in the jute sector.