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An open market sale (OMS) of sugar and lentil by the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will be extended further as its drive has apparently failed to rein in the prices of the essential commodities.
The TCB started to sell sugar and lentil in the open market from February 13 for the second time in six months to bring back normalcy in the prices of essential commodities.
"We will extend the period of OMS of sugar and lentil. The current OMS was originally decided for only one month," said TCB chairman Shahidul Haque while talking to the FE.
He said the TCB needs to extend the service until it brings a positive impact in the prices of sugar and lentil in the local markets.
Since the beginning of the current OMS the TCB has sold more than 100 tonnes of sugar and 100 tonnes of lentil mainly in four divisional cities, the TCB sources said.
The TCB has no operation in Sylhet and Barisal.
Recently, the TCB floated a tender to import 25,000 tonnes of sugar, the TCB sources said.
Abul Hashem, a wholesaler said sugar was selling between Tk 1860 and Tk 1870 per maund at the wholesale level Saturday.
The TCB officials sold sugar at Tk 42 per kg while the price of lentil was fixed at Tk 40 per kg.
"The price of sugar may decline in the near future as many traders are importing item," Hashem, who is also the organising secretary of the Bangladesh Wholesale Sugar Merchant Association (BWSMA) told the FE.
Every customer can buy upto two kgs of sugar and 10 kgs of lentil, the TCB officials said.
Meanwhile, in the retail markets sugar was selling between Tk 52 and Tk 54 per kg, and lentil was selling between Tk 48 and Tk 52 per kg at the city markets Saturday.
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