TCB to sell key essentials during Ramadan

The government is set to sell five key essential commodities through 174 trucks at subsidized rates before and during the holy month of Ramadan to help keep their prices stable, officials said.
The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) in its meeting has taken the move of open market sale (OMS) of major essential items through trucks for keeping the prices within the reach of the common people, they said.
The state-run agency would sell essentials in different parts of the country using 174 trucks including 25 in Dhaka, 10 in Chittagong, five each in divisional cities and two each in 57 district towns, according to the meeting decision.
The figure was also the same (174) last year, the TCB said. However, the date to start truck sale is yet to be fixed. The TCB will sell five types of commodities including sugar, soybean oil, lentil, gram and date, the data showed.
The state-run agency will provide operating expenses to its dealers at Tk 4.50, Tk 5.50 and Tk 6.50 for selling of per kg of an essential item in 50 kilometres and 51-100 kilometres and beyond 100 kilometres from the TCB warehouse area respectively.
Around Tk 6.52 million will be needed as subsidy to provide the dealers this year, according to the TCB. There is a TCB warehouse in each division including Mymensingh district.
"We have sufficient stocks of essential items to keep the supply and prices steady and stable during Ramadan," a high official of the TCB told the FE.
He said the number of trucks for selling commodities has not increased this year as prices and supply of key essential goods are now stable and at a tolerable level across the country.
The TCB official declined to make comment on the stock situation of five essential items, saying that if the figure is disclosed, hoarders might take advantage and create an artificial crisis which eventually will raise the prices of essentials.
The government will give importance to keeping the supply and prices steady and stable during Ramadan, a high official of the ministry of commerce (MoC) said.
"We will increase the number of trucks if the situation demands during the coming fasting month. TCB has a sufficient quantity of soybean, sugar, lentil, gram and date so that unscrupulous traders cannot hike the prices of the items artificially during holy Ramadan," he said.
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