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The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) is planning a pilot initiative to sell selected essential commodities in the open market at prices below prevailing market rates, expanding access beyond its existing Smart Family Card programme.
TCB Chairman Brig Gen Mohammad Faisal Azad said the products would be procured from overseas at competitive prices and sold to consumers without government subsidies.
“This is a completely new initiative, stemming from the current government’s thinking,” he said.
The pilot will initially focus on edible oil. The first shipment of around 20,000 tonnes is expected to arrive in Bangladesh in the first week of September.
“If we can procure lentils at a lower price, we will sell lentils. If we can procure sugar at a lower price, we will sell sugar as well,” Faisal said.
Unlike the subsidised Smart Family Card programme, the proposed open-market sales will be available to all consumers. The pilot will run for three to four months, after which TCB will assess market response and decide whether to continue or expand it.
The chairman said the first shipment would be treated as a “pilot lot” and the programme’s continuation would depend largely on whether TCB can sell the procured goods effectively.
“If we bring in products but cannot sell them, it will not be possible to continue the programme. If we can sell them, we can move forward,” he said.
Faisal stressed that the government would provide no subsidy for the open-market sales. Instead, TCB plans to buy products at competitive prices and sell them with a relatively small margin, potentially keeping prices Tk 10–12 per unit below prevailing market rates, depending on procurement costs.
The initiative will not be seasonal. If the pilot proves successful, TCB may gradually bring more essential commodities under the programme.
Edible oil has been selected as the first product because of its high current price and strong consumer demand. Faisal said TCB could only sell products cheaply if it was able to procure them at competitive prices.
Sugar, lentils and other essentials may be added later if favourable procurement opportunities arise.
Faisal said TCB would not intervene in every commodity market at all times. Instead, it would bring specific products to the market when supply shortages or price pressures emerge.
The open-market initiative will operate alongside, rather than replace, TCB’s existing subsidised sales through Smart Family Cards.
“The subsidised programme is separate. This will be sold at market prices, although below the prevailing market rate,” he said.
The chairman said the pilot would be conducted under TCB’s existing mandate and would not require a separate programme name or immediate additional budget, as funds have already been allocated under the current budget.
TCB hopes that a successful pilot will allow the initiative to expand to more products and increase its presence in the open market, potentially helping ease overall price pressures.
“If we can put products into the market, prices will naturally begin to come down,” Faisal said.