The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) has started selling onion imported from India at the rate of Tk 40 per kg under special arrangements amid the export ban.
State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu inaugurated this onion sale program as the chief guest in front of the TCB building located in Karwan Bazar on Tuesday (April 2) morning.
Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, was present as a special guest at this time. TCB Chairman Brigadier General was also present. Ariful Hasan, Director General (DG) of National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate AHM Safikuzzaman, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Ward Councilor No. 26 Shamim Hasan.
On the occasion, TCB informed that onions will be sold through trucks at 103 places in Dhaka, including in front of TCB building, secretariat and press club in Karwan Bazar. Onion will be sold in 50 places in Chittagong and 15 to 20 places in Gazipur in the same manner. Each truck will carry 10 tonnes of onions and will be sold at Tk 40 per kg. Anyone with a TCB family card holder can buy a maximum of 2.5 kg onions from the truck.
TCB Chairman Brigadier General. Ariful Hasan said that the amount of onion that is required in the country is not produced. There is some deficiency. Due to which the deficit is met by importing onion from different countries. In this case, Indian onion import is convenient for us. Because Indian onion is close to our native onion and the price is a little less. When India stopped exporting onions, the domestic market reacted and the prices were not in a favorable position. In such a situation, our Minister of State for Commerce took the initiative to import onion by negotiating with India despite the ban. In the negotiation, 50 thousand metric tons of onions are promised to be exported to India 1 thousand 650 metric tons of onion arrived last day as his first shipment. To give relief to the consumers, the same has now been openly sold through TCB’s truck sale.
Commerce State Minister Ahsanul Islam Titu said there were many risks in bringing onions. When we got it, we were still a bit hesitant whether we could bring these onions and reach the consumer level before the end of fasting. You won’t believe, this onion is coming here today by truck after loading from Delhi via Darshana. Bringing it requires unusual logistics. Which came to the country under the leadership of the TCB chairman without a single onion being wasted. We have to take risks in many cases in making decisions. There was also a possibility of a sudden fall in onion prices. Yet we took this risk. It will bring benefits to common people.
Expressing gratitude to the Government of India for exporting onion despite the ban, he said, our Ministry of Commerce has worked as a team despite all the odds. For the first time we gave perishables through TCB. The Government of India has kept its word in the face of all challenges. As a friendly state, they gave onions in Ramadan.
Design & Devlopment : Ifad Technology
