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.

Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will start sale of four daily essentials—lentils, soybean oil, potatoes, and onions—in trucks at various points in the capital from Tuesday (November 14, 2023) alongside its family card programme. These products will be available at half of the current market price. Secretary to the Commerce Ministry Tapan Kanti Ghosh said these while talking to reporters at the conference room of the Ministry of Commerce at the Secretariat on Monday. “Through the TCB card, 13 lakh families in Dhaka are being given products at a fair price. Apart from this, from Tuesday (November 14), 25 to 30 trucks will sell products in Dhaka when 9000 more families will be able to buy goods at lower prices. 300 people will get these products from each truck. Sales will take place every day except Fridays and Saturdays, with different days allocated to different places,” he said. Read: TCB to import soybean oil, lentil for OMS programme He said that the truck sale would be conducted on a first-come, first-served basis. Given the increase in imports, the scope of this truck sale will be increased, said the commerce secretary. He said that it will be monitored to ensure that TCB family cardholders do not buy products from these trucks. Meanwhile, according to the sources of the Ministry of Commerce, a consumer can buy products from these truck sale only once a month. Read: TCB to start selling 5 products to 1 crore families at subsidized prices Tapan Kanti Ghosh said, “Anyone can buy 2 kg of lentils, potatoes, and onions and 2 liters of soybean oil. In this case, the potato will be sold at Tk 30 per kg, onion at Tk 50, lentils at Tk 60, and soybean oil at Tk 100 per liter.” About egg import, Tapan Kanti Ghosh said that the import of 25 crore eggs has been approved. “62000 eggs have been imported. Our aim is not to import eggs but to reduce the price of eggs. If the price is low, there is no problem even if the import is low,” he said. Read more: TCB to sell onion at Tk35 per kg to cardholders from Monday But until the market stabilizes, potatoes and eggs will be imported. “We got significant results because of the import of eggs and potatoes. Instructions have been sent from the Prime Minister's office that potatoes will be sold at Tk 27 per kg from cold storage. Potatoes will be released from cold storage in the presence of a district administration representative.”

The government today decided to reduce the price of edible oil, considering the price reduction in the international market, Senior Secretary to the Ministry of Commerce, Tapan Kanti Ghosh, said today (June 11, 2023). The price of bottled soybean oil has been reduced by Tk 10 per liter to Tk 189, and loose soybean oil will now cost Tk 167 per litre. Also read: Bottled soybean price hiked by Tk 12 per litre, effective from today Meanwhile, the price of palm oil has been reduced by Tk 2 per litre to Tk 133, the senior secretary said after the 7th meeting of the ‘Task Force on Review of Commodity Prices and Market Situation’ at the conference room of the Ministry of Commerce at the Secretariat. The price reduction will come into effect "within a few days," he said. Also read: 11 proposals including import of soybean oil, sugar get cabinet body’s nod The commerce secretary said: “Many issues were discussed in today's meeting, including the prices of soybean oil, onion, ginger and garlic. We’ve also discussed the current import situation.” “We’ve already reduced the price of onion after the decision to allow imports,” he said. Also read: Govt cuts soybean oil price by Tk 5 per litre, effective from Sunday The commerce secretary also said the price of edible oil may reduce further in the next 15 days, based on the reduction in price in the international market. According to the Ministry of Commerce, there is a demand for 20 lakh tonnes of edible oil annually in the country. Of this, the demand during the holy month of Ramadan is close to 3 lakh tonnes. Around 200,000 tons are produced locally, while the remainder is imported. Also read: TCB to buy 1.60 crore litres of soybean oil for OMS ahead of Ramadan

State-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will start selling essential items at fair prices for one crore low-income families across the country from Tuesday (January 10, 2023). "Some 10 million families across the country, with cards, will be able to buy the essential items," said a press release signed by Md Humayun Kabir, information officer of the Dhaka Regional office. Read more: TCB to procure 2.75 crore litres of soybean oil Each cardholder can buy 1 kg of sugar at Tk 60, 2 kg of lentils at Tk 70 per kg and two litres of soybean oil at Tk 110 per litre. Eligible people have to buy the items from the shops of distributors or at designated places, it added.

The government has cut the edible oil price by Tk5 per litre and fixed the maximum retail price of per-litre bottle of soybean oil at Tk 187 from Tk 192. The new price of oil will be effective from next Sunday (November 18). As per discussion with the Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (BVORBMA), the association of the owners of edible oil refining and marketing companies, the Ministry of Commerce issued a notification in this regard on Thursday. Read more: TCB to procure 2.75 crore litres of soybean oil As per the new rates, the price of loose soybean oil has been fixed at Tk 167 and bottled soybean oil at Tk 187 per litre. A 5-litre bottle of soybean oil price is set at Tk 906 and palm oil at Tk 117 per litre. At present, loose soybean oil retail price is Tk 172 per litre, bottled soybean oil is Tk 192 and a 5-litre bottle is Tk 925 in the retail market. Besides, the price of palm oil is 121 Tk per litre.

State-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will procure 2.75 crore (27.5 million) litres of Soybean oil from the local suppliers for its Open Market Sale (OMS) propgramme. Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) in a virtual meeting on Wednesday approved three separate proposals of the Commerce Ministry in this regard. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the meeting while other members of the committee attended it virtually. The move of the TCB, a subordinate body of the Commerce Ministry, which has been operating as a state-marketing agency to tame the rising price hike of essentials, is part of the government's plan to procure some essential commodities in bulk and sell those through the OMS programme. As per the Commerce Ministry's proposals, the TCB will procure the entire edible oils through three open tenders. Read more: Soybean oil: No real effect of reduced tariff Under the proposals, some  1.10 crore litres of soybean oil will be procured from privately owned City Edible Oil Limited at a cost of Tk 203.32 crore with cost of each litre at Tk 104.48 per litre. The similar quantity of soybean oil will be procured from Super Oil Refined Limited at 204.44 crore with each litre cost at Tk 185.95 and some 55 lakh litres of soybean oils will be purchased from Shun Shing Edible Oil Ltd at a cost of Tk 101.47 crore with each litre's price at Tk 184.05.    The CCGP also approved some other procurement proposals, including the procurement of 130,000 metric tons of fertiliser. Of these, the Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) will import 50,000 MW of Muriate of Potash (MOP) fertiliser from Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) at a cost of Tk 344.90 crore with each metric ton cost $655.03.  The Canadian Commercial Corporation will supply another 50,000 MT of MOP at the same price under a separate lot.  State-owned Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) will import 30,000 MT of bulk granullar urea from Fertiglobe Distribution Limited, UAE at a cost of Tk 163.75 crore with each metric ton costing Tk $518.33. The BCIC will also import 10,000 metric tons (MT) of phosphoric acid for its Chattagram TSP Complex Limited from Guizhou Chanhen Chemical Corporation, China (local agent Best Eastern, Dhaka) at a cost of Tk 73 crore. The CCGP approved a number of proposals of the Housing and Public Works Ministry to raise the cost of civil works  under its “Construction of Elevated Expressway from Lalkhan Bazar in Chittagong City to Shah-Amanat Airport” project. Read more: Bottled soybean oil to cost Tk 14 less per litre from tomorrow Under the proposals, the cost of the civil construction works No-WD-1 will be increased by Tk 649.02 crore, while cost of the civil works No-WD-1 of “Construction of road from Kalurghat Bridge to Chaktai Canal along the banks of Karnaphuli River” will get higher by Tk 230.05 crore. The CCGP approved a proposal of the Roads and Highways Department to award a Tk 1,085.34 crore contract to a joint venture of (1) CHSIETC, China; (2) SLGC, China and (3) PDL, Bangladesh to implement the Construction of lot No. DS-06 of the WP-03 package of the “SASEC Dhaka-Sylhet Corridor Road Development” project. The committee also approved three proposals for the extension costs of the three segments of a project under the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC). As per the approvals, the cost of the work of No-WP-10 package of the “Sasec Road Link Project-2: Upgradation of Elenga-Hatikamrul-Rangpur highway to 4-lane” will be increased by Tk 211.03 crore while the cost of the work No - WP-11 package of the same project will be increased by Tk 147.65 crore and cost of the works No-WP-12 package will be enhanced by 142.84 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.

Soybean oil and sugar prices have gone up again. Soybean oil price has increased by Tk 12. It is now Tk 190 per litre. Price of sugar has increased by Tk 13; it is now Tk 108 per kg. The new prices are effective from today (November 17, 2022).  According to a circular from Bangladesh Sugar Refiners Association, regarding the sugar price hike, the maximum retail price of sugar has been adjusted in accordance with the international market. Read: Refiners want Tk 15 per litre soybean oil price hike by tomorrow Following this, application for price adjustment was made on November 3 with necessary documents. Later, two rounds of discussions were held with Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission regarding price adjustment. The new price of sugar is effective from today, as Bangladesh Trade and Commission agreed on price adjustment. As per the new prices, loose sugar is Tk 102 per kg and packaged sugar is Tk 108 per kg. Meanwhile, in a separate notification, Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Bonaspati Manufacturers Association said that the maximum retail price of edible oil has been adjusted in line with the international market. Following this, application for price adjustment was made on November 1 with necessary documents. Later, discussions were held with Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission regarding price adjustment. The commission agreed on the price adjustment. Read: Sugar prices to be stable soon, says Commerce Minister The new prices of edible oil, effective from today, are Tk 190 per litre of bottled soybean oil and Tk 925 for 5 litre bottle. Unbottled soybean oil is now Tk 172 and palm oil Tk 121 per litre.

Bangladesh has shown interest to import sugar, wheat and soybean oil from Brazil. This was conveyed to newly appointed Ambassador of Brazil to Bangladesh Paulo Fernando Dias Feres when he met Shahriar Alam, state minister for foreign affairs, on Monday at his office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They discussed the possibility of investing in the fields of high breed cows, poultry, poultry feed and fisheries in Bangladesh. The state minister also expressed hope that Brazil would facilitate Bangladesh’s initiative to have preferential trade agreement with the MERCOSUR countries. Read more: It’s my strong hope to see free, fair election in Bangladesh: Ambassador Naoki The Brazilian envoy said that during his tenure he would like to work on introducing Bangladesh better to the Brazilians, work intensely to strengthening people-to-people and business-to-business contacts and widen trade relations with Bangladesh. Ambassador Feres appreciated Bangladesh’s economic strides in the last one decade. Referring to his recent visit to Brazil, Shahriar thanked the Brazilian government for concluding visa exemption agreement for diplomatic and official passports holders and MoUs between Foreign Service Academy and Bangladesh and Rio Branco Institute of Brazil. He also mentioned that three business MoUs with the apex Chambers in Brazil were important step stone towards a greater commercial cooperation between the two friendly countries. Shahriar congratulated him on the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Brazil. He also congratulated the newly elected President of Brazil Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva on his remarkable victory. Read more: Japan wants "strategic" partnership with Bangladesh through practical cooperation The state minister said Bangladesh looks forward to working with the new administration to further strengthening its political and trade relations. The ambassador expressed his country’s keen interest to work with Bangladesh closely on the issues of mutual benefits in the bilateral and multilateral forums.

Soybean oil price may go up as Bangladesh Tariff Commission (BTC) is considering proposal for hiking edible oil price due to higher production costs. Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Banaspati Manufacturers Association (BVORBMA), the association of owners of edible oil refining and marketing companies, has submitted a proposal to raise soybean oil price by Tk 15 per litre. The oil refiners argued that traders will count losses due to higher production costs and price hikes in the global market if soybean oil price is not adjusted. Also read: Soybean oil: No real effect of reduced tariff The refiners submitted a letter last Tuesday to Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh, urging the government to readjust the prices by Sunday (tomorrow). The refiners made the proposal a month after lowering soybean oil price by Tk 14 a litre. Chief Executive of BVORBMA, Nurul Islam Molla, told UNB, the situation was described to the commerce secretary. After a meeting with Salman F Rahman, the prime minister’s adviser for private industry and investment on October 3, the association lowered the prices by Tk 14 a litre. The price of a litre of unbottled soybean oil was set at Tk 158, a litre bottle at Tk 178, and a 5-litre bottle at Tk 880. Read More: TCB to procure 2.25 litres of soybean oil, 15,000 mts of lentil for OMS.