Two of 33 ice mills still running, and five winter months of straight loss

Ice mills in Chandpur have been closing one after another under a shortage of working capital, rising raw-material costs, heavy electricity bills and a falling fish supply. Of 33 that once ran, only two were still producing at the time of the report; a short while earlier five were active, making 3,500 cans of ice. The big landing station at Boro Station was left short of ice, and the ice-mill owners' association had to petition the district administration to get a second mill restarted. One owner at Natun Bazar blames heavy sand extraction in the Padma and Meghna for destroying fish eggs and shifting the fish routes, so the fish - and with them the ice buyers - do not come even in peak season. A manager with 30 years in the trade says the business loses money for five straight winter months when demand collapses, and that this is the main reason mills shut; some former owners have moved their plant to districts with better fish landings. Ice sells wholesale at 160 taka a can. No capital or start-year figures are given.