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 Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will start selling essential items at fair prices for 1 crore low-income families on Sunday. The government has already prepared a list of 87 lakh card holders who will get 2 liters of edible oil, 2 kgs sugar and 2 kgs lentils. The TCB will arrange ‘truck sale’ across the country to sell edible oil at Tk 110 per kg,  sugar at Tk 55 per kg, lentil at Tk 65 per kg and onion at Tk 30 per kg In order to facilitate the sale of TCB's products in a systematic manner, a list of these families has been prepared and special family cards have been distributed. Also read: Crowds growing around TCB trucks, women lack the access Of these, 12 lakh families in Dhaka North and South City Corporation and 90 thousand families in Barisal City Corporation could not be issued the family cards. And  so, all of TCB's products will be sold to them through mobile trucks. The list has been prepared with the help of Deputy Commissioners, Upazila Nirbahi Officers and people's representatives at the union level considering the local population and poverty indicators. TCB Chairman Brigadier General Md. Ariful Hassan told UNB that in the first phase each beneficiary family will get 2 liters of edible oil, 2 Kgs sugar and 2 kgs lentils from March 20 to 31. Also read:TCB to start selling for 10 million families from Mar 20: Minister There are a lot of floating people in Dhaka city areas and special marking method will be applied to avoid duplication in providing the TCB products, he said.

Amid the soaring prices, President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Md Jasim Uddin on Sunday urged businesses not to make excessive profit on essential goods considering the situation. He said the Covid-19 pandemic hit the earning of almost all people triggering the price hike of essentials, which ultimately added to the commoners’ woes. The FBCCI president said this at a views-exchange meeting with importers, wholesalers and traders at the FBCCI office. “Of course, you’ll make profit from your businesses, but do not do excesses,” Jasim told the businesses. He expressed concerns at the discrepancies in pricing of similar goods based on areas and markets. Read: NBR urged to withdraw, slash duties on 4 essential items “Suppose a one-kg cucumber is sold at Tk 10 at Karwan Bazar while Tk 50 in Gulshan area,” Jasim said urging the business people to stop this practice. He said often blame is passed on to the business community as a whole but every businessman is not a profit monger. “There are some dishonest businesses who always try to cash in on the situation,” the FBCCI president added. The consumers of the country have been suffering from the soaring prices of essentials, such as sugar, edible oil and vegetables amid the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic. Besides, he said, the price hike of energy and commodities and depreciation of local currency have been fuelling the inflationary pressure on consumers. Read:Price hike in Bangladesh: Unseen sufferings of shy middle class Many of the businesses attended the meeting said extortion by vested quarters contributed to the price spirals of many items. A businessman who attended the meeting told the correspondent not to be named that he has to pay a toll of Tk 9,000 per truck for the van to reach Dhaka from Bagura.

The Ministry of Commerce has urged the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to withdraw customs duty on onion import, aiming to keep its price stable in the market. The ministry also urged the NBR to slash import duties on crude soybean oil, palm oil and sugar to cool the overheated domestic market. Read:Price hike in Bangladesh: Unseen sufferings of shy middle class The request was made at a meeting of the Ministry of Commerce at the Secretariat on Monday to keep the stock, supply, import and price situation of the commodities stable. “NBR has been requested to withdraw the import duty on onion, and reduce the duties on crude soybean, palm oil and unrefined sugar in public interest,” additional secretary to Import and Internal Trade division of the Commerce Ministry AHM Safiquzzaman said at the meeting.