TCB starts 2nd phase goods sales via family cards today

The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) has started the second phase of sales of subsidised goods to one crore family card holders in districts and upazilas today.

It will sell four essential commodities – edible oil, sugar, gram, and lentil – under this programme, said a press release on Wednesday.

Each family will be able to buy up to two litres of edible oil for Tk 110 per litre, two kilograms of sugar for Tk 55 per kg, two kilograms of lentil for Tk 65 per kg, and two kilograms of gram for Tk 50 per kg in this phase.

Among the one crore beneficiaries, 30 lakh families were selected from a database of those receiving cash incentives amid the Covid-19 crisis.

With the help of local authorities, family cards were distributed among 57.1 lakh beneficiaries across the country. Besides, there are 12 lakh and 90,000 beneficiaries in Dhaka and Barishal respectively.

The second phase was supposed to begin on April 3 but was delayed for various reasons. The commerce ministry has already issued a guideline in this regard to the district and upazila authorities.

The first phase – which started on March 20 to supply affordable kitchen essentials to low-income groups and keep the market stable amid Ramadan – ended on March 31. Oil, sugar, and lentil were sold in that phase.

Sources said TCB had already delivered goods to nearly every corner of Bangladesh.

The state-owned corporation earlier started selling subsidised goods to around 12 lakh families in Dhaka using 137 trucks on April 2.