1 crore family card-holders to get subsidised essentials from June 1

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi today said that the government would start providing essential commodities to one crore people through family cards at subsidised rates from June 1.

The minister made the comment at a press briefing after holding the second meeting of a task force in the ministry's conference room.

The commerce minister said the government would not sell essentials through the open market sales (OMS) operation of the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh at the moment.

If the OMS operation resumes, only the family card-holders would be able to purchase from there, he said.

About the edible oil, the minister said there are enough stocks of cooking oil in the country. "So, there is no need to worry."

The government is thinking about increasing the local production of mustard oil or some other oil varieties to cope with the current crisis in the international market, he said.

Speaking about the wheat crisis, the minister said India has not cancelled the export of the grain to Bangladesh and government-to-government agreements with the country are still valid.

"Importers of Bangladesh will be able to import 100 per cent wheat from India."

India meets 64 per cent of the wheat demand in Bangladesh.