<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday asked the businesspeople and industrialists to pay at least the cost of generation and procurement of electricity and gas if they want to avail uninterrupted supply of the energy.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“If you want uninterrupted electricity and gas, then you have to pay the production cost or procurement cost at least. How long we will provide subsidy?,” she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The premier was inaugurating the 27th edition of the ‘Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF)-2023’ where Bangladesh-made products will be on display for promotion in the international market.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Commerce Ministry and the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) organised the month-long largest annual commercial and trade event of the country at its permanent venue – “Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre '' – at Purbachal on the outskirts of the capital.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hasina said that the government can’t provide huge subsidy on electricity and gas for unlimited period that comes from the pockets of the mass people.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“We cannot give such huge amount of public money as subsidy, so businessmen and industrialists have to pay attention to this matter,” she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the programme the PM declared jute and jute products as the Product of the Year 2023.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She said that once jute was called the golden fibre of the country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">She mentioned that the demand of jute will never end and the jute products are environment friendly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“We have been able to invent the jute genome, so we can produce so many products,” she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hasina also mentioned that jute is an all-purpose crop and product and every part of it – from leaves to sticks - can be used.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“So we have to give importance to jute. We have opened up our public jute mills and anyone can take lease one of these mills,” she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In this regard she said that the lessee can operate these mills directly or induct modern technology to produce diversified items.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“You can do your marketing across the globe as demand of the environment-friendly products is increasing day by day. You have to take that opportunity,” she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, Textiles and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi , Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh, President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Md. Jashim Uddin and EPB Vice Chairman AHM Ahsan also spoke at the programme. UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>