Amid strict lockdown to contain Covid-19 in the country, the price of essential commodities has risen manifold but the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) truck sales have allowed for some breathing room for low-income people.
On Tuesday, a large number of people were seen buying goods from truck vendors at prices lower than the market.
According to a TCB spokesperson, the corporation will continue regular product sales in different areas of the capital obeying health and safety guidelines.
Sugar, lentil, rice, wheat, soybean oil, and other essentials are being sold through 400 mobile trucks across the country. Of them, 80 are in Dhaka city and 20 in Chittagong.
At the Azimpur area, consumer Md Abdullah said: “We cannot afford high-priced goods. TCB products have better quality and lower price than the market. It is a relief for us, and the service should be continued.”
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Lentil is being sold at Tk145 per kg in the market but here it is being sold at Tk90, he added.
Another consumer Sadek Ul Hasan from the same area said people are coming here to buy products as the prices are low.
“However, the supply of products is much lower than the requirement,” he said.
Farid Uddin Ahmed, president of TCB's distributors' association, said: "I hope consumers will buy TCB products. Amid pandemic, there is a huge demand for essentials among customers. We are trying to fulfil the demand for affordable goods.”
Rickshaw puller Rubel Mia at the New Market area said he bought some necessary products from the TCB truck there.
“I bought 5kg of rice from a truck at Tk30 per kg. The prices that TCB offers are more affordable for us.”
TCB distributor at the Press Club area Akram Ali said the quality of TCB's products is good.
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“The price is also much lower than the market. As a result, buyers are interested in buying the products,” he added.
People of all classes and professions will benefit if the government increases the allocation for TCB truck sales, he further said.
Nazrul Islam, former economics teacher at the University of Dhaka, said the prices of various commodities including onion, edible oil and lentil have gradually gone out of the reach of lower and lower-middle class.
“In a free market economy, for the betterment of the common people, the government should enhance its capacity and workforce so that unscrupulous businessmen cannot bag extra money in the name of shortage amid the pandemic,” he said.
