Govt to procure edible oil, lentil, sugar and wheat worth Tk 507cr

The government will procure edible oil, lentil, sugar and wheat worth Tk 507 crore from local and international markets.

Of the amount, Tk 153.97 crore will be spent to buy wheat, while Tk 77.98 crore to buy soyabean oil, Tk 107.60 crore to buy sugar and Tk 167.38 crore to buy red lentil.

The approval of procuring the edible oil, lentil, sugar and wheat was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) held on Thursday (March 14) with Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali in the chair.

Other important proposals placed at the CCGP meeting were import of 3 lakh metric tonnes of wheat from Russia and each tonne will cost US$288.

Import of 40,000 metric tonnes of DAP fertiliser from Saudi Arabia and each tonne will cost US$581. Fertliser will be imported from Russia and each metric tonne will cost US$289.75.

The government will procure four cargoes of LNG from four different sources in the spot market.

Meanwhile, following the meeting, the Cabinet Division’s coordination and reform secretary Md Mahmudul Hossain Khan said responding to a proposal of the Ministry of Food, approval was given to import 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat from Greenflower DMCC of the United Arab Emirates inviting open tenders.

He said the wheat will be imported to ensure security of foodgrains for the fiscal 2023-2024. The price of each metric tonne of wheat has been fixed at US$279.95. As a result, 1,39,97,500 US dollar will be spent to import the wheat which is Tk 153,97,25,000. Import of each kilogram of wheat will cost Tk 30.79.

The secretary said the Ministry of Commerce submitted two proposals for procuring red lentil and two separate proposals for procuring soyabean oil and sugar. The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase approved all the four proposals.