State-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will procure 22.5 million litres of soybean oil and 15,00 tons of lentils from local private firms through direct procurement method (DPM) for its open market sale (OMS) program.
Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) approved a number of separate proposals placed by the Commerce Ministry in this regard as the TCB, the state marketing agency under the ministry, will buy the commodities under different lots.
As per the proposals, some three million litres of soybean oil will be procured from Basundhara Multi Food Products Ltd at a cost of Tk54.90 crore while 5.5 million litres from City Edible Oil Ltd at Tk101.75 crore, 8.5 million litres from Meghna Edible Oil Refinery Limited at Tk156.63 crore, and 550,000 litres from Super Oil Refinery Ltd at a cost of Tk101.75 crore.
Each litre of soybean oil will cost between Tk183 and Tk185. All the quantities of soybean oil will be procured through direct procurement method sidelining the open tender procedure.
The TCB will procure 5,000 MT of lentil each from Blue Sky Enterprises Dhaka, Masud & Brothers of Chittagong Masud & Brothers, Chittagong and Ruby Food Products Ltd., of Chittagong.
Each kg of lentil will cost Tk110, the same price from all firms, while the entire 15,000 mts will cost Tk165 crore.
The Cabinet body also approved two separate proposals of the Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) under the Agriculture Ministry to procure a total of 90,000 metric tons of fertilizer.
Of the bulk agro-inputs, some 50,000 MT of Muriate of potash (MOP) fertiliser will be imported from Canadian Commercial Corporation at a cost of Tk386.19 crore with each metric ton costing $812.62 while previous price was $914.
Some 40,000 MT of DAP fertiliser will be imported by BADC from OCP, SA of Morocco at cost of Tk296.93 crore with each metric ton costing $781 against an earlier price of $914.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs at a meeting approved in principle two separate proposals on rice import.
As per a proposal, the Directorate General of Food will import 400,000 MT of rice through direct purchase method (DMP) from rice exporting countries.
Under another proposal, the Directorate General of Food was allowed to curtail the 42 days obligation to 15 days for submission of tender proposal by suppliers to procure rice from the international market to facilitate emergency import of rice.