TCB to import gram, date for Ramadan

Talha Bin Habib | Published: April 25, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

The state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) would import 1,500 tonnes of gram and 150 tonnes of date for the upcoming holy month of Ramadan, officials said.
The food items will arrive in the country by next month. The TCB is going to procure gram from Tanzania while date from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Â "The shipment of gram and date for the country is underway. We hope that the consignment of gram and dates will arrive within May," TCB spokesman Md Humayun Kabir told the FE Thursday.
He said that TCB already stocked a sufficient quantity of soybean, sugar and lentil so that unscrupulous traders could not hike the prices of the items artificially during Ramadan. Â
The TCB will procure 12,500 tonnes of sugar from the Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFC) at a rate of Tk 40 per kg.
At present, the TCB is selling soybean, sugar and lentil in the open market. Soybean oil depending on brands is selling between Tk 99 and Tk 112 per litre while sugar at Tk 41 per kg and lentil Tk 67 per kg.
Asked about prices of the essentials during Ramadan, the official of TCB said: "We will fix the prices before the start of the fasting month. The prices will be fixed at a reasonable level considering the common people's interest". Â
The government took adequate preparations to keep prices of essential commodities stable and within the consumers' reach during Ramadan, said a high official of the Ministry of Commerce.
He said the TCB import would also help check any artificial crisis during Ramadan. The government gave importance to keeping supply and prices steady and stable during Ramadan.