Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will start sale of four daily essentials—lentils, soybean oil, potatoes, and onions—in trucks at various points in the capital from Tuesday alongside its family card programme.
These products will be available at half of the current market price.
Senior Secretary to the Commerce Ministry Tapan Kanti Ghosh said these while talking to reporters at the conference room of the Ministry of Commerce at the Secretariat on Monday.
“Through the TCB card, 13 lakh families in Dhaka are being given products at a fair price. Apart from this, from Tuesday (November 14), 25 to 30 trucks will sell products in Dhaka when 9,000 more families will be able to buy goods at lower prices. 300 people will get these products from each truck. Sales will take place every day except Fridays and Saturdays, with different days allocated to different places,” he said.
He said that the truck sale would be conducted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Given the increase in imports, the scope of this truck sale will be increased, said the commerce secretary.
He said that it will be monitored to ensure that TCB family cardholders do not buy products from these trucks.
Meanwhile, according to the sources of the Ministry of Commerce, a consumer can buy products from these truck sale only once a month.
Tapan Kanti Ghosh said, “Anyone can buy 2 kg of lentils, potatoes, and onions and 2 liters of soybean oil. In this case, the potato will be sold at Tk 30 per kg, onion at Tk 50, lentils at Tk 60, and soybean oil at Tk 100 per liter.”
About egg import, Tapan Kanti Ghosh said that the import of 25 crore eggs has been approved.
“62,000 eggs have been imported. Our aim is not to import eggs but to reduce the price of eggs. If the price is low, there is no problem even if the import is low,” he said.
Tapan also said that around 10,095 tonnes of potatoes have so far been imported against the permission for importing 2 lakh tonnes of potatoes given by the Ministry of Agriculture.
But until the market stabilizes, potatoes and eggs will be imported. “We got significant results because of the import of eggs and potatoes. Instructions have been sent from the Prime Minister's office that potatoes will be sold at Tk 27 per kg from cold storage. Potatoes will be released from cold storage in the presence of a district administration representative.”
The senior commerce secretary claimed that the prices of commodities have increased in the market due to the global situation and the increase in the exchange rate of the US dollar.
