Tk600 per kg beef brings Ramadan respite as govt begins subsidised sales

Ashiya Begum furrowed her brows as she internally calculated the total cost of her grocery list while the items were being tallied up.

But the kilogramme of beef, a dozen eggs and a litre of milk had all cost much less than she had anticipated.

"I had given up the thought of eating beef which retails at Tk800 per kilogramme now. But on the way back from the market, I saw that the government was selling it for Tk600. This is a relief for people like us," she said.

Ashiya had done her shopping from a truck where food essentials were being sold for lower prices.

An initiative of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, the trucks are spread across 30 designated spots in the capital.

At one such spot in Merul Badda, around 200 people could be seen standing in two lines behind a pickup van next to Rampura Bazar.

As time went on, the line steadily grew. By 11:30am, around three hours after sales had begun, chicken meat had already run out.

"We were given 40 kilogrammes of chicken meat, which we ran out of quickly. But we still have beef, milk and eggs."

Whereas a full broiler chicken is sold at Tk230 in the retail market, here a fully dressed chicken can be bought at Tk250.

Eggs are also being sold at Tk110 per dozen instead of the retail price of Tk135. Mutton is sold at Tk900 and Milk Vita milk at Tk80 per litre.

Of the 30 spots, 25 are temporary and five are permanent locations. In these five shops, beef is being sold at Tk650 per kg.

Shah Alam Biswas, deputy project director of the Livestock and Dairy Development project, who is monitoring the sales centre in Kakrail, said, "There is a huge response from the common people on the first day. We expect sales to be over by one in the afternoon."

The fisheries ministry is also selling rui fish at Tk240, pangas and tilapia at Tk130 and pabda fish at Tk330.

Rafiqul Islam, who came to buy fish, said, there are no fish below Tk350 in the normal markets.

"Because of this, I bought fish from here and saved a little."