TCB to start OMS from May 15

Senior Correspondent: The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) is set to start open market sale (OMS) of five essential commodities across the country from May 15 in a bid to ensure smooth supply and keep the prices of the items stable during Ramadan, the fasting month for Muslims.

TCB Chairman Abu Saleh Md Golam Ambia came up with the disclosure while talking to reporters after a meeting on reviewing current prices on Sunday noon.

"The holy month Ramadan will begin on May 27 (subject to the sighting of moon). We hope to start selling essential commodities from May 15 ahead of Ramadan," the TCB chairman said.

A total of 185 trucks will be used in the sales across the country - 33 trucks in Dhaka, 10 in Chittagong, five in other divisional cities and two in district towns, he added.

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said, "We imported the lentils and grams from Australia. Several crores will go in TCB as subsidies."

The state-owned agency this year will sell sugar, lentils, edible oil, gram and dates to keep their prices stable during Ramadan.

Every year, TCB puts up the sale to keep the prices of essential commodities steady during Ramadan. Like previous years, 2,811 distributors will take part in the sale.

risingbd/DHAKA/Apr 30, 2017/Noimuddin/Amirul