TCB sold 2,33,794 metric tons of essentials in past 15 months

Aiming to keep the essential commodities market stable, state owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) has sold 2,33,794 metric tons of goods at subsidized prices across the country in the past 15 months.

The government initiative has benefited around 13.33 crore families thus far, amid the sporadic Coronavirus lockdowns and over the previous two holy months of Ramadan, said Commerce Ministry in a press release on Tuesday.

Various essential goods are available at TCB, including soybean oil, sugar, red lentils, onion, grams, dates, and potatoes.

Following regular monitoring and assessment, the commerce ministry found that prices of all commodities remained stable since last year, except for edible oil, in the holy month of Ramadan.

The prices of edible oil remained stable from 2014 to June of 2020 which later showed an upward trend due to a price hike in the international market.

The price of edible oils is affected by price fluctuations in the global market as it is an import based good. More than 95 percent demand for edible oils is met through imports.

A review of the global market showed that the price of edible oils is up a 160 percent while domestic market prices have increased only 35 percent.

Oil prices have remained under control due to the joint efforts of the Commerce ministry and the Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association.