A total of 31 state-owned industrial enterprises are currently operating at a loss, Industries Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir informed Parliament on Thursday.

The Minister provided these details in a scripted response to a query from treasury bench lawmaker SM Jahangir Hossain (Dhaka-18) during a question-and-answer session presided over by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad.

According to the Minister, the loss-making units include five enterprises under the Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation (BSEC), 14 under the Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC), and 12 under the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC).

Minister Muktadir explained that while the government provides subsidies to cover the "trade gap"—the disparity between production costs and selling prices—for fertilizers like urea, TSP, and DAP produced by BCIC factories, no such subsidies are allocated to the struggling units under BSFIC or BSEC.

Instead, the government offers loans to BSFIC enterprises specifically for operating capital support.

To address these financial challenges, the government has launched several initiatives aimed at reducing losses and revitalizing the state-owned sector.

For the sugar industry, plans include modernizing BSFIC mills, increasing sugarcane production and recovery rates, rationalizing manpower, and establishing new agro-based industries and distillery plants.

Additionally, a major project is currently underway to modernize Chhatak Cement Company Ltd under BCIC by converting its production from a wet process to a more efficient dry process.

The Minister further noted that the government is actively working to restart closed factories and establish new, energy-efficient, and environment-friendly industries.

These efforts are focused on using modern technology to produce import-substitute products.

Ongoing initiatives also aim to modernize BSEC industries, improve their environmental standards, and strengthen their marketing systems to ensure long-term profitability.

Corporation	Number of Loss-Making Units	Government Support Type
Bangladesh Sugar & Food Industries (BSFIC)	14	Operating Capital Loans
Bangladesh Chemical Industries (BCIC)	12	Subsidies (for Fertilizers)
Bangladesh Steel & Engineering (BSEC)	5	No Subsidies
Total	31	—