The state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will begin selling essential commodities at subsidised prices through 450 trucks nationwide from Tuesday ahead of the holy month of Ramadan.
Under the special initiative, consumers will be able to purchase edible oil, sugar, lentils, chickpeas and dates at prices lower than the prevailing market rates.
Chickpeas, a key Ramadan item, will be sold at Tk 60 per kg, while dates will cost Tk 160 per kg. Edible oil will be available at Tk 115 per litre, sugar at Tk 80 per kg and lentils at Tk 70 per kg.
Each consumer will be allowed to buy a maximum of two litres of edible oil, one kg of sugar, two kg of lentils, one kg of chickpeas and, subject to allocation, one to two kg of dates from the mobile trucks.
The products sold through the trucks will be open to all buyers. At the same time, TCB said its regular sales programme for family card holders will continue unchanged.
The quantity and prices of edible oil, sugar and lentils sold to card-holding families at subsidised rates each month will remain the same, while chickpeas and dates will be added for Ramadan at Tk 60 and Tk 160 per kg respectively.
According to TCB, 50 trucks will operate daily in Dhaka Metropolitan area, 20 in Chattogram Metropolitan area and 15 each in seven other metropolitan areas. In the remaining 55 districts, five trucks will operate in each district, bringing the total number of mobile trucks to 450 across the country.
The Ramadan sales programme will continue for 20 days from February 17 to March 12, excluding Fridays and public holidays.
TCB said each truck will serve around 400 low-income consumers per day. Through the truck sales initiative, about 35 lakh beneficiaries are expected to receive nearly 23,000 tonnes of essential commodities at affordable prices during the period.