The New Nation - Internet Edition

BUSINESS REPORT

State-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will import some essential commodities including 3,000 tonnes of refined soybean oil, by the end of the next month, to keep the retail market stable, officials said yesterday.

The items also include 3,000 tonnes of red lentil and 500 tonnes of onion.

"These items will be imported ahead of the holy month of Ramadan to keep the retail market stable," TCB chairman Ziaul Islam said. Ramadan begins in the first week of September.

Demands for these items, used mainly for some special foods for breaking the day-long fast, rise sharply during Ramadan in the country.

Earlier, TCB invited several tenders to import the commodities, but the responses were poor, he said.

"The response was poor, because the tender requirement was too small," said Fazlur Rahman, a leading importer in Bangladesh.

"Now we are trying to contact with the foreign exporters to encourage them to participate in the tenders," Islam said. "We will import those commodities through local importers, if international tenders fail to draw suitable responses," Islam said.