The state-run marketing agency Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will begin selling essential commodities at subsidised prices from Tuesday (February 17) ahead of the holy month of Ramadan. Under the programme, consumers across the country will be able to purchase edible oil, sugar, chickpeas, lentils, and dates at below-market rates.

Two additional Ramadan-specific items, chickpeas and dates, will be sold at BDT 60 and BDT 160 per kg, respectively. Edible oil will be priced at BDT 115 per litre, sugar at BDT 80 per kg, and lentils (masoor dal) at BDT 70 per kg.

Through mobile truck sales, each consumer will be allowed to purchase a maximum of two litres of edible oil, one kg of sugar, two kg of lentils, one kg of chickpeas, and one to two kg of dates, subject to availability.

The products sold through the mobile trucks will be open to all buyers. At the same time, regular sales activities for family cardholders will continue as usual. The quantity and price of subsidised edible oil, sugar, and lentils allocated monthly to card-holding families will remain unchanged. During Ramadan, chickpeas and dates will also be sold to them at BDT 60 and BDT 160 per kg, respectively.

Each day, the products will be sold through 50 mobile trucks in the Dhaka Metropolitan area, 20 in the Chattogram Metropolitan area, and 15 in each of seven other metropolitan areas. In the remaining 55 districts, five trucks per district will operate, bringing the total number of mobile trucks nationwide to 450.

The Ramadan sales programme will run for 20 days — from Tuesday (February 17) to March 12 — excluding Fridays and public holidays.