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Maddhapara Granite Mining Co struggles to boost sales
PHOTO: KONGKON KARMAKER
KONGKON KARMAKER
Maddhapara Granite Mining Company Limited (MGMCL) is struggling to give a much-needed boost to its sales despite producing high-quality hard rocks and higher demand for the construction raw material amid ongoing infrastructure development in Bangladesh.
The preference for cheap imported stones among traders has further exacerbated the company’s financial burden.
Since 2007, the state-run company has incurred losses amounting to Tk 565 crore, driven by its failure to sell high-quality hard rocks.
Located in Parbatipur upazila of Dinajpur, MGMCL, a subsidiary of Petrobangla, has seen its daily production rise to an average 1.3 lakh tonnes per month since November.
In July, the company produced 1.39 lakh tonnes, the highest single month output since May 2020. However, it managed to sell only 58,000 tonnes of rock in the first month of the current fiscal year of 2023-24.
In the last fiscal year, MGMCL produced around 11 lakh tonnes of hard rock. Of them, 5.75 lakh tonnes were sold, leaving more than half of the output unsold.
Currently, there is a stockpile of about 6 lakh tonnes of hard rock. MGMCL is facing difficulty in maintaining the stock owing to severe space constraints and unsold rocks are being stored throughout the mining area.
MGMCL witnessed robust sales in 2018-19 and 2019-2020.
In 2018-19, the company produced 10.67 lakh tonnes of rock and sold around 7.31 lakh tonnes, earning Tk 163 crore in revenue and Tk 7.26 crore in profit.
In 2019-2020, despite a four-month suspension of mining due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 8.23 lakh tonnes of rocks were produced and around 8.64 lakh tonnes were sold. It generated a revenue of Tk 207.81 crore and an annual profit of Tk 22.40 crore.
The profit in the two consecutive years was attributed to the disruption faced by the import of rocks from countries such as India and Nepal through land ports.
The situation changed when MGMCL raised its prices in 2022, prompting local construction firms to opt for cheaper imported rocks. In response, the state-run company cut prices in May this year but importers still prefer imported stones.
MGMCL officials say the decline in sales has been primarily due to traders’ preference for imported rocks. However, some contractors in Dinajpur have cited high transportation costs as a deterrent to using Maddhapara’s hard rock.
The contractors have urged the authorities to consider lowering the price of rocks further.
Abu Daud Md Fariduzzaman, managing director of MGMCL, said his office is working tirelessly to boost sales.
When MGMCL began operations under the North Korean company Nam-Nam in 2007, its contribution to national infrastructure development was nominal. In the six years to 2013, the company produced only 20 lakh tonnes of rock during the period, inflicting a loss of Tk 132 crore on MGMCL.
In 2013, MGMCL signed a contract with GTC (Germina Trest Consortium), a joint venture between Belarusian state concern for oil and chemistry JSC Trest Shakhtospetssroy and Germania Corporation Limited of Bangladesh, for mine management, maintenance, development and production.
GTC is now producing around 1 million tonnes of rock annually.
Jabed Siddiqui, managing director of GTC, said the company is working to maximise production in order to help MGMCL generate higher revenue from exports.
He urged local firms to utilise the hard rock produced at Maddhapara.
The annual demand for hard rock in Bangladesh is around 10 million tonnes, valued at Tk 6,000 crore. MGMCL can supply up to 1 million tonnes annually, officials of the company said.