TCB to buy 2.75cr litres of edible oil from local suppliers
The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh will purchase 2.75 crore litres of edible oil from local suppliers to continue its sale of essential items at subsidised rates to one crore low-income families across the country.
Yesterday, the cabinet committee on government purchase approved the TCB proposal.
TCB will purchase the edible oil at Tk 184-186 a litre but sell at Tk 110 a litre to the families.
Of the proposed amount, TCB would purchase about 1.1 crore litres from City Edible Oil for Tk 184.84 a litre, Sayeed Mahbub Khan, additional secretary of the cabinet division, told reporters after the cabinet committee's meeting.
The state organisation will also buy 1.1 crore litres from Super Oil Refinery and 55 lakh litres from Shun Shing Edible Oil for Tk 185.95 and Tk 184.5 a litre respectively, he added.
Yesterday, it started selling essentials for the month of December among around one crore beneficiary cardholders from low-income groups.
The organisation will sell sugar and pulse at an increased rate of Tk 60 and Tk 70 a kg respe1ctively. The prices of both items have gone up by Tk 5 a kg. The price of edible oil remains unchanged from the previous month.
On Tuesday, TCB said the prices of sugar and pulse have increased due to a rise in prices of commodities in the local market.
It has been selling the goods at subsidised rates to the beneficiary cardholders in all metropolitan cities and other areas of the country since August to make the items affordable for low-income people.
The sales activities are conducted from designated shops and other establishments with the overall cooperation of city corporations as well as district and upazila administrations on a scheduled routine.
Talking to reporters in Rangpur, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi yesterday said the government would continue selling essentials at subsidised rates through TCB to the one crore families as long as they need the help.
The prices of imported goods like pulse, oil and sugar have gone up a little in the local market due to their high rates in the international market.
This situation may persist in the next two to three months, the minister added.
Also at yesterday's meeting, the cabinet committee on government purchase approved the import of one crore tonnes of Muriate of Potash fertiliser from Canada.
The purchase price of each tonne of MOP will be $655.03, which was $679.65 before.
The committee also approved the import of 30,000 tonnes of urea fertiliser from the UAE for $518.33 per tonne. It was $553.33 previously.
The government has been buying fertilisers for weeks to provide the vital agricultural input to farmers at low prices amid the elevated price level everywhere.
Besides, the committee approved a joint venture road development project for the Dhaka-Sylhet highway. The Tk 1,085.34-crore project has been awarded to CHSIETC of China, SLGC of China and PDL of Bangladesh.
Another Tk 49.86-crore project for purchasing equipment for the terminal and different yards at Chattogram Port was approved yesterday. The job is given to China's Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries.