The government has initiated a project to establish a 'Strategic Reserve' of essential commodities through building a modern warehouse network across the country, aiming to strengthen market stability and emergency supply reliance, sources said.
To this effect, the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) recently submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Commerce, seeking its permission for building the proposed warehouses.
The move comes following a verbal directive made by the Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir to address critical storage shortages and prevent market manipulation during crisis periods.
According to the TCB assessments, the country's annual demand for edible oil is around 2.5 million tonnes and that of sugar is 2.2 million tonnes and lentils 0.7 million tonnes.
And nearly 80 to 90 per cent of the demands are met through the local producers and suppliers.
According to commerce ministry officials, the country continues to face a critical shortage of buffer stock and modern storage infrastructure, keeping the essential market vulnerable.
The proposed 'Strategic Reserve' project has been designed to achieve three major long-term milestones for the nation's supply chain.
They are: Ensuring uninterrupted supply of essentials during emergencies such as global supply disruptions or natural disasters, preventing artificial price hikes and hoarding through adequate state-controlled reserves and expanding national warehousing capacity under TCB management.
"To increase storage capacity for essential goods, ensure stability in market management, and maintain uninterrupted supply during emergency situations, primary administrative approval for warehouse construction under the 'Strategic Reserve' project is highly necessary," the TCB stated in its proposal.
The project is expected to move into its implementation phase once the commerce ministry gives its nod to it.
Currently, the TCB operates sales drives of some key essential items at subsidised prices among nearly 10 million low-income families through smart cards every month all over the country.
Besides, it also operates open market sales of key essential items.
It sells different types of commodities such as onion, sugar, soybean oils, lentils, every month, Gram and dates generally are sold during the holy month of Ramadan, according to the TCB.
According to an official document, the state entity has recently expanded its offerings to include bath soap, laundry soap, detergent, and salt, alongside its key essential items.
When contacted, a senior official said, "We are working on the issue as the government wants to ensure an adequate supply of these key products in the market throughout the year."
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