Tea, salt among five new items to be added to TCB sales list

Over 6 million smart family cards are now active across Bangladesh

The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will add five new products to its sales list for beneficiaries starting in November.

The new items will include tea, salt, detergent, and two types of soap, in addition to existing staples such as rice, lentils, edible oil and sugar.

Commerce Advisor Sheikh Bashir Uddin made the announcement on Monday afternoon during a meeting on beneficiary selection and Smart Family Card activation at the ministry’s conference room in the Secretariat.

He said the government provides nearly Tk 50 billion in subsidies for TCB operations to maintain supply and demand balance in the market.

Bashir added that the inclusion of these five items would bring “additional relief to low income households and help control inflation”.

He urged officers to accelerate the selection of 10 million beneficiaries and activation of cards nationwide, calling on them to ensure no needy household is left outside the social safety net.

“The goal is to deliver TCB’s family cards to genuine beneficiaries. Each card must identify a poor and needy person eligible for government support.”

The advisor also urged city corporations and local administrations to show visible progress within a month in both selecting beneficiaries and activating cards nationwide.

During the meeting, the latest figures on smart family cards were presented. At the moment, 6.03 million cards are active, while another 339,454 remain pending activation.

Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman said accurate beneficiary selection has become “a major challenge”, while city corporation processes are running “slower” than expected.

He expressed confidence that efforts to overcome these issues will yield results soon.