Govt purchases Tk 1.94bn worth of edible oil, lentils ahead of Ramadan

The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh adds another 11 million litres of soybean oil and 8,000 tonnes of lentil to its stocks as part of the efforts to contain prices during the month of fasting

The government has purchased 11 million litres of soybean oil and 8,000 tonnes of lentil for the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh to sell during the upcoming Ramadan.

The cabinet committee on government purchase passed a total of 15 proposals, including two purchase proposals from the commerce ministry, in a meeting on Wednesday.

The government is buying the soybean oil and lentils through open tenders at a cost of Tk 1.94 billion, said Additional Secretary Sayeed Mahbub Khan of the Cabinet Division. Each litre of edible oil will cost Tk 176.88, down from Tk 177. Meghna Edible Oil Refinery will supply the oil.

A proposal to buy 8,000 tonnes of lentils for Tk 732.9 million was approved by the committee, he said. The commodity was bought from the local agent of a Turkish company for a price of Tk 91.60 a kg.

Asked if the authorities had any plans to reduce the prices of the essentials ahead of Ramadan, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said the government needs to purchase [goods] almost every month for the TCB. “We’re using open tenders to buy more soybean oil and lentils as Ramadan is approaching.”