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The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) has called a fresh auction to sell 15 tonnes of high-quality fish that the government had purchased as a gift for Kuwait but failed to send due to flight-related complications.
The consignment originally comprised 20 tonnes of fish bought in April, including 10 tonnes of giant freshwater prawns (golda chingri), five tonnes of pomfret (rupchanda) and five tonnes of black tiger prawns (bagda chingri).
Kuwait accepted some of the gift items, including rice, but did not take the fish. Sources said Kuwait was reluctant to transport the perishable fish on regular commercial flights.
TCB subsequently invited bids on August 18 after waiting for about five months. A Khulna-based company bought five tonnes of bagda chingri in the first auction, while 10 tonnes of golda chingri and five tonnes of rupchanda remained unsold.
The TCB has now invited fresh bids for the remaining fish. Interested individuals or organisations must submit their bids by 12:30pm on September 15 at TCB’s headquarters in Dhaka or its regional offices in Khulna and Chattogram.
Bidders can quote prices for a minimum of 500kg. Separate bids and security deposits must be submitted for golda chingri and rupchanda.
The fish are currently stored at the processing plant of GTS Sea Food Industries at Bhandarkot in Batiaghata, Khulna. Interested buyers can inspect samples there from 11am to 3pm on September 13 and 14 before submitting their bids.
A refundable security deposit of at least Tk 15,000 must be submitted through a pay order in favour of TCB. The deposit will increase proportionately if the quantity quoted for exceeds the minimum requirement.
The highest bidder will be declared the winner and will have to pay 15% VAT and, where applicable, 5% income tax to the government treasury.
The successful bidder must pay the full amount within three working days of winning the auction and collect the fish at their own expense within another three days. Failure to collect the fish within the stipulated period may lead to cancellation of the auction, while additional storage charges may apply for delays.
If a successful bidder fails to make payment and collect the fish within the specified period, the security deposit will be forfeited.
TCB spokesperson and Deputy Director Shahadat Hossain told Prothom Alo that the five tonnes of bagda chingri had already been sold and the fresh auction was being held for the remaining golda chingri and rupchanda.
“We hope all the fish will be sold this time,” he said, adding that some fish had been brought from Khulna to Dhaka so that interested buyers could inspect them more easily.