The government has decided to buy 2 crore litres of refined palm olein and 10,000 tonnes of lentils for subsidised sale to one crore low-income families. The total cost will be Tk 445 crore 60 lakh.

The purchase proposals were approved at a meeting of the cabinet committee on government purchase, chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, at the Secretariat on Wednesday, 2 September.

Under the meeting's decision, 2 crore litres of refined palm olein will be bought locally through open tender at Tk 183.85 a litre, at a total cost of Tk 367 crore 70 lakh. The lowest bidder, Shabnam Vegetable Oil Industries Limited of Dhaka, will deliver the oil to TCB warehouses, including transport costs.

The oil is being bought for subsidised sale to one crore low-income families holding TCB cards, with a counter-guarantee from the finance ministry for the purchase money.

TCB's edible oil purchase target for the 2026-27 fiscal year has been set at 22 crore litres, of which 84 lakh 1,802 litres have already been bought.

The same meeting approved a proposal to buy 10,000 tonnes of lentils at Tk 77.90 a kg, at a total cost of Tk 77 crore 90 lakh.

Four bids were submitted in the local open tender for lentils, and all were found technically acceptable. After evaluation it was decided to buy the 10,000 tonnes, delivered to TCB warehouses including transport costs, from the lowest acceptable bidder, Bonga Millers Limited.

TCB's lentil purchase target for 2026-27 is 2 lakh 20,000 tonnes, of which 8,250 tonnes have already been bought.

The decision will add fresh stock to TCB's programme of supplying edible oil and lentils at subsidised prices to low-income families.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.