Govt plans to sell TCB commodities through permanent shops: Ahsanul

State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu on Sunday said that 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).

Besides, he said the plan is also there to sell TCB products among the mid-income group people at affordable prices in the future.

Titu said, “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 said this while inaugurating the sale operations of TCB products for the month of June at Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Play Ground in the capital’s Pallabi area.

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

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

“Through providing four essential items at subsidized rates, we’re also controlling the pressure of 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 this June, one crore TCB beneficiary families across the country will be provided 5 kgs of rice at Taka 30 per kg, 2 liters of soybean oil 100 per liter, 2 kgs of lentil at Taka 60 per kg, and 1 kg of sugar at Taka 70 per kg in Dhaka. The price per package will be Taka 540.

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