Govt plans to sell TCB commodities through permanent shops: State minister

Efforts are on to sell products of the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) among the common people through setting up permanent shops in the next fiscal year (FY25), State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu said today (2 June).

"Besides, the plan is also there to sell TCB products among the mid-income group people at affordable prices in future," he made the remark while inaugurating the sale operations of TCB products for June at Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Play Ground in the capital's Pallabi area.

"From the next fiscal year (FY25), we want to sell products through permanent shops so that the beneficiaries can take away products timely. We'll try to make a buffer stock of TCB products in the next fiscal year so that we can control the price of essentials although there may be a shortage of supplies at kitchen markets at different times."

He informed that the government has already signed an agreement with Russia while efforts are on to sign such agreement with other countries.

Titu further said, "When one crore families get such essential items at subsidized rates, the demands of rice, sugar, lentil and edible oil are met to a significant extent.

"Through providing four essential items at subsidized rates, we're also controlling the pressure of the price of essentials in the market. There has been a bumper production of paddy in this season and our Directorate General of Food is procuring rice and paddy.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to control the price of rice also," he added.

In June, some one crore TCB beneficiary families across the country will be provided 5kgs rice at Tk30 per kg, 2 litres of soybean oil at Tk100 per litre, 2kgs of lentil at Tk60 per kg, and 1kg of sugar at Tk70 per kg in Dhaka. The price of per package will be Tk540.

Commerce Secretary Mohammad Selim Uddin, and TCB chairman M Mostafa Kamal Iqbal, among others, were present on the occasion.