In April the government bought 20 tonnes of large, premium fish — 10 tonnes of freshwater prawn, 5 tonnes of pomfret and 5 tonnes of tiger shrimp — as a gift for the government of Kuwait. Flight complications meant it never left the country. Last month the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) put the consignment up for auction on the domestic market; a Khulna firm took the 5 tonnes of tiger shrimp, but the 10 tonnes of prawn and 5 tonnes of pomfret found no buyer. TCB has now called a second auction.

TCB sources say the government had decided to give Kuwait rice, fish and some other goods, and Kuwait said it would carry them on its regular flights. In April it took the rice but not the fish; sources say the Kuwaiti side was reluctant to carry perishable cargo on commercial flights. After a five-month wait, TCB invited its first bids on 18 August.

For the new round, bidders must submit tenders by 12.30pm on 15 September at TCB's head office in Dhaka or its regional offices in Khulna and Chattogram. The minimum bid is for 500 kilograms, with separate bids and deposits for prawn and pomfret. The fish are held at the Trust Sea-Food Industries processing plant at Bhandarkot in Batiaghata, Khulna, where samples can be inspected from 11am to 3pm on 13 and 14 September.

Each tender must carry a refundable pay order of at least Tk 15,000 in TCB's favour, rising in proportion for larger quantities. The highest bidder wins and must pay 15 per cent VAT on the quoted price and, where applicable, 5 per cent income tax to the treasury.

The winner has three working days to pay in full and three further days to collect the fish at their own cost; delays incur daily storage charges, and failure to collect on time can void the auction and forfeit the deposit. Bids without the required deposit will be rejected.

Shahadat Hossain, TCB spokesman and deputy director, said the tiger shrimp had been sold and the re-auction called for the prawn and pomfret; he expects everything to go this time. Some fish has been brought from Khulna so that interested buyers can inspect it in Dhaka as well.

Source: Prothom Alo