In an effort to provide ten agricultural products including potatoes, eggs, onion and vegetables at affordable prices, the government has taken an initiative to sell products through open market sale (OMS) program. Finance Adviser Dr. Saleh Uddin inaugurated the OMS programme in front of the Food Building on Tuesday morning. Consumers can purchase one kg potatoes at Tk 30, one dozen eggs at Tk 130, one kg of onion at Tk 70, one kg green papaya at Tk 20 and five different vegetables through the programme. Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury who was present during the inauguration programme, said the government has taken such initiative to reach the products at an affordable price to the doorsteps of people. Eggs must be sold at govt-set prices from Wednesday: DG of Consumer Rights Primarily, the OMS programme will be available in 20 points of Dhaka including Food building, Manik Mia Aveneue, Mirpur-10, Basabo, Basila, Rayer Bazar, Rajarbagh, Mugda-North, Mugda-South, Palashi intersection, Hazaribagh, Mohammadpur, Gabtoli, Mohakhali Bus Stand, Begunbari, Uttarkhan, Dakkhinkhan, Kamrangirchar, Rampura and Jigatola.  

Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will procure 1.10 crore litres of edible oil and 10,000 metric tons of lentil to sell through its open market sale (OMS) programme. Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) approved two separate proposals in this regard in a meeting on Thursday, presided over by Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali. Don’t listen to rumours involving commodity prices: PM  The Commerce Ministry placed the proposals on behalf of the TCB. According to proposals, the TCB will import 1.10 crore litres of Soybean oil through open tender from  City Edible Oil Ltd. at a total cost of Tk 174.66 crore with each litre at Tk 165.25. Jatka conservation week to begin March 11 The TCB will procure 10,000 metric tons of lentil at a cost of Tk 83.12 crore from Nabi Naba Food Limited with each kg at Tk 103.09.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday asked the authorities concerned to operate the open market sale (OMS) through cards in order to ensure discipline in the management of the food programmes. The PM issued the directive while chairing the Cabinet meeting at her office in the city. “The PM has given a directive to fulfill the gap in the OMS management…. She asked to take steps to give the OMS commodities through cards and operate it through the card system so that there will be no gap in its management,” said Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain at a press briefing. He said the PM also directed the administration to monitor the market of commodities and strengthen the vigilance against food hoarders. Meanwhile, the Cabinet approved a proposal to issue an SRO by the Security Services Division to provide the dual citizenship facility to the Bangladeshis who obtained citizenship from 44 more countries. Now the Bangladeshis having citizenship from 57 countries are enjoying this facility.  So, the Bangladeshis having citizenship from a total of 101 countries will enjoy this facility after the issuance of this SRO. Read more: Apply innovative power, talents to build Bangladesh: PM to BCS officers Among the 44 new countries, there are 19 African countries, 12 South American ones, 12 Caribbean ones and one Oceania country. The 44 countries include Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Algeria, Sudan, Morocco, Ghana, Rwanda, Burundi, Tunisia, Sierra Leone, Libya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Gambia, Botswana and Mauritius, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Suriname, Uruguay, Guiana, Cuba, Dominica, Haiti, Barbados, Bahamas, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada and Fiji. The Cabinet also approved in principle the draft of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (Amendment) Act, 2023 with a view to bring some changes including extension of the tenure of vice chancellor, pro-vice chancellor and treasurer of the university to four years from three years. Besides, the Cabinet cleared the draft of Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan 2022-2041 in a bid to ensure sustainable development by paying a special attention to the climate issues and problems in different other plans including the Delta Plan 2100 and the Smart Bangladesh Vision-2041.  Some US$ 80 billion fund will be required to implement the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan 2022-2041, said the Cabinet Secretary, adding that this plan was framed so that the country’s development would be sustainable from the climate perspective.

The government is going to provide 50 lakh families with 30 kg rice at Tk 15 per kg from March 1 under its Food Friendly Progamme, Food Minister Sadhan Chandar Majumder said on Sunday. “OMS is an ongoing programme. It will continue as long as there is demand for it. If necessary, it will continue throughout the year. Both rice and flour will be provided under the programme,” the minister said while speaking to the media after inspecting an OMS programme at Naogaon’s Atapotti and Rubir Mor area. “Although Open Market Sale(OMS) is not a year-long programme, it was undertaken so that low-income people would not suffer. That’s why we are still running the programme. What we want to see is whether people are getting the benefit and whether any dealer is smuggling. For this reason, inspection and monitoring will continue,” said the minister. Read more: Govt plans to provide 10 kg rice to 1 crore families each during Ramadan: Food Minister He also said the food stock in government warehouses has exceeded all previous records, adding that Bangladesh currently has more than 21 lakh tonnes of food stock against the safety stock of 10 lakh tonnes. Currently, the government is distributing around 14000–15000 tonnes of rice and flour per day across the country. According to the minister, other food assistance programmes (Kabikha, VGF, TR) will also run alongside OMS. “So there is nothing to panic about. There will be no food shortage in the country,” he added. The minister issued a warning to the traders not to stockpile food items for financial gain at the expense of the people. “New laws are being enacted. Cases have already been filed against many groups. Surveillance has been increased,” he said. Read more: Economic dev not possible without agriculture: Food Minister Rajshahi Regional Food Controller GM Farooq Hossain Patwar and Naogaon District Food Controller Alamgir Hossain were among the officials present. Meanwhile, the people who came to collect food items under the programme, said that the allocation is less than the demand. The minister assured the people that their problems would be taken into account.    

Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the state-run marketing agency, will further procure a total of 2.09 crore litres (20.9 million litres) of soybean oil from local and international suppliers without any tender process. The TCB will also procure 8,000 metric tons of lentil through open tender. Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) in a virtual meeting on Thursday approved a number of proposals in this regard. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the meeting while members of the cabinet body attended it virtually. The entire products will be procured for its ongoing open market sales (OMS) programme which has been introduced to control prices of essential commodities across the country. For long the TCB has been procuring some essential items from local and international suppliers to sell those in the local market under the OMS programme.  As per the proposals, some 44 lakh litres of soybean oil will be procured through direct purchase method (DPM) from Sena Edible Oil Industries., Dhaka, at a cost of Tk 81.18 crore with each litre costing at Tk 184.5. The TCB will procure 1.10 crore litres of soybean oil from Zad Al Rahil International LLC Sultanate of Oman (Local Agent: Sky Trading) through DPM at a cost of Tk 151.73 crore with litre coasting at 152.86 . Read: TCB to procure 2.75 crore litres of soybean oil It will procure another 55 lakh litre of soybean oil from Shun Shing Edible Oil Ltd., Dhaka through DPM at a cost of Tk 101.47 crore. Each litre will cost at Tk 185.5. The TCB will procure 8,000 metric tons of lentil from Arabel Bakliyat Hububat Santic A.S (Local Agent: BINQ, Dhaka, at a cost of Tk 81.57 crore. Each kg will cost at Tk 101.97.  Besides, as per a proposal of the Ministry of Industries, Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) will import 30,000 MT of bulk granular urea fertilizer from Fertiglobe Distribution Limited, the UAE at a cost of Tk 153.60 crore under a state level agreement. As per a proposal of the Agriculture Ministry, another 30,000 MT of TSP fertiliser will be imported by Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) from OCP, S.A of Morocco at a cost of Tk 153.86 crore under a state level agreement. The Cabinet body approved a proposal of Bangladesh Hi-tech Park Authority under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division to award a Tk 424.54 crore contract to for Western Engineering Pvt. Ltd., for building of the infrastructure of Sheikh Hasina Institute of Frontier Technology in Madaripur. Read: TCB to procure 1.65 crore liter of soybean oil, 8,000 MT of lentil A proposal of the Roads and Highway Department received the nod of the CCGP to award a Tk 1,232.95 crore to Joint Venture of (1) HEGO, China; (2) Mir Akhter, Bangladesh for civil works under the package lot No-DS-o5 of the Sasec Dhaka-Sylhet Corridor Road Development project. The Cabinet body approved a proposal of the Chattagram WASA to raise the cost of its consultant NIJ Consultants Co. Ltd., for Karnaphuli Water Supply Project (phase-2) by Tk 24.52 crore.

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGO) in a virtual meeting has approved six proposals including two for procurement of soybean oil and import of fertilizer. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the meeting while other members of the committee attended it. As per a proposal, placed by the Commerce Ministry, state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will procure 22 million (2.20 crore) litres of Soybean oil from the local suppliers for its open market sale (OMS) programme. However, it was not immediately known which companies are the suppliers and whether the companies are selected through direct procurement method (DPC) or through open tender process. Sayeed Mahbub Khan, additional secretary of the Cabinet Division, who briefed about the decisions of the CCGP meeting, said the proposal was placed on the table in an instant move and he had no detailed information on the matter. Two proposals from the Agriculture Ministry on the import of a total 80,000 metric tons (MT) of fertiliser received the nod of the committee. Of these, state-owned Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) will import 50,000 MT of Muriate of Potash (MOP) from Canadian Commercial Corporation under state level contract at Tk 358.48 crore. Also read: TCB to procure 125 lakh litres soybean oil, 5000 kg lentil from 7 local suppliers Each MT of fertilizer will cost $679.65 while the previous rate of such fertilizer was $778.17 per MT.The BADC will import 30,000 MT of Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) fertilizer from OCP, SA of Morocco at a cost of Tk 150.67 crore under state-level contract. Each MT of TSP will cost $474 while the previous rate of such a product was $687.25 per MT.The committee approved three proposals of Dhaka WASA, placed by the Local Government Division. Also read:Soybean Oil Substitutes: Some Healthier Options for Cooking, Baking Of these, Dhaka WASA (Water Supply and Sewerage Authority) will award a Tk 420.06 crore contract to the Joint Venture of (1) CCECC, China; (@) SafBon, China and (3) SMEDI, China for the civil works of the package No-WD-2 under Dhaka Sanitation Improvement Project (DSIP). Under the same DSIP, Dhaka WASA will award a Tk 229.72 crore contract for civil works of the package No-3 to the Joint Venture of (1) Gypsum Structural India Pvt. Ltd, India; (2) EMIT Group Ercole Marelli Technologici, Italy and (3) Khilari Infrastructure Private Ltd., India. Under the same project of DSIP, the Dhaka WASA will appoint DOHWA Engineering Co.Ltd., Korea as its consultant at Tk 70.77 crore.

The government will start open market sale (OMS) of whole-wheat flour packets across the country from October 1, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said today (September 13, 2022). The process of packaging whole-wheat flour for OMS has already started, he said at the ‘BSRF Dialogue’, organised by Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum (BSRF) at the Secretariat. “Packed whole-wheat flour may cost a little more. However, it will be sold at half the price of the flour that is being sold in the market,” he added. Read:OMS will continue till rice market is stable: Food Minister “We will allocate one tonne of whole-wheat flour per day to dealers in districts and city corporations for sale from October 1,” said the minister. Besides, the shipping of imported wheat has also started, he added.

Selling rice and flour through open market sale (OMS) program will continue until the rice market is stable, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said today (September 6, 2022). “The government operates the program for five months – from March to April and September to November – every year and the OMS service will continue as long as the market is unstable,” he said. The government started OMS from September 1 and under the service, people can purchase one kg of rice at Tk 30 and one kg of flour at Tk 18. Local administration, officials of Food Department and intelligence team are monitoring the service, said the minister. Talking about Boro procurement, the food minister said the government has procured 11.21 lakh tonnes of boiled rice while 55.20 thousand tonnes of non-boiled rice have been collected. Also read: Offer easy loans to create entrepreneurs: Razzaque to banks “The government has a target to procure 6 lakh tonnes of paddy but we got only 2.68 lakh tonnes,” he said. During the current Aman season, the government will import rice after ensuring fair prices for the farmers. The government is going to procure 10.30 lakh tonnes of rice and wheat from several countries, he said. As per agreement, the government will purchase 2.30 lakh tonnes of rice from Vietnam, two lakh tonnes from Myanmar, one lakh ton from India, and five lakh tonnes of wheat from Russia, he added. He also hinted at more procurement of rice through the government to tackle the drought in advance. An individual can buy five kgs of rice and flour. Besides, the TCB card holders can also avail the opportunity. Meanwhile, the government also started the ‘food friendly programme’ from the same day under which 50 lakh people can purchase rice at Tk 15.    

Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder has said that people from the transgender community will get preference while buying essentials through the government’s Open Market Sale program. The Minister said this while speaking as Chief Guest at a cultural event organized by the transgender community at the Enam Medical College Hospital Auditorium in Dhaka on Friday. Sadhan added that the Social Welfare Ministry has taken up projects to empower the transgender people and ensure their inclusion in the society. “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that no one will remain homeless. To fulfill her promise, she has launched the Ashrayan project, through which the homeless people including members of the transgender community are receiving places to stay,” said the Minister. Sadhan also talked about the many benefits that the transgender people are getting under the current government. Read: Food Minister urges people to check food waste “In 2019, the government recognized transgender people as members of third gender through providing them with the right to vote. Currently, the transgender people can use their identity in getting passports and many other services. This shows the emphasis the government has put on improving the living standards of the transgender community,” Sadhan added. The event was presided over by Dr Enamur Rahman, State Minister for the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, and inaugurated by Momtaj Begum, Member of Parliament from Manikganj-2 seat. Mohammad Abu Naser Baig, Deputy Secretary of the Education Ministry and Majharul Islam, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Savar, among others, attened the event as special guests.

The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will start open market sale (OMS) of some essential commodities including edible oil from mid of May in Dhaka and other divisional cities. The ministry is working to re-fix the prices of essentials including edible as their prices have gone up on the global market, said an additional secretary to the Commerce Ministry. Also read: Govt approves fresh hike in edible oil price effective Friday Primarily the TCB will engage 400 trucks for OMS after fixing the prices of commodities, he said. In the month of Ramadan, the TCB sold soybean oil at Tk110 per liter, but the price of soybean and other edible oil jumped bothon local and global markets, so it is needed to re-fix the prices of TCB’s edible oil and other commodities, the official said. Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi will brief reports on edible oil supply and management issue at his secretariat office on Monday, senior information officer of the ministry Abdul Latif Bakshi  told UNB on Sunday. Also read: Around 23 million litre soybean oil arrives at Chittagong port amid growing demand Besides, Tipu Munshi will talk formally with the traders, edible oil importers and refiners regarding the current situation of edible oil price and supply in the market.