The state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) has resumed the sale of subsidised essentials, including edible oil, sugar and lentils, to low-income people as of Saturday, ending a break of more than two months.

Speaking to the Daily Sun, Md Humayun Kabir, joint director of TCB, said the organisation restarted operations on Saturday in line with a prior notice issued on Thursday. Sixty-one trucks will operate in different districts every day, except Fridays, until the end of the month.

According to the notice, under this initiative, non-registered low-income individuals may purchase a maximum of two litres of soybean oil at Tk115 per litre, one kilogram of sugar at Tk80, and two kilograms of lentils at Tk70 per kilogram each day.

These prices are significantly lower than current market rates, where soybean oil costs at least Tk190 per litre, sugar Tk140 per kilogram, and lentils Tk160 per kilogram.

Each truck will serve 500 households per day for 14 days until 30 November, the notice signed by Deputy Director (Commercial) Md Shahadot Hassin stated.

Under the interim government, TCB has regularly sold products to eligible “insolvent family card” holders, while conducting truck-based sales among non-registered beneficiaries on special occasions such as Ramadan and Eid-ul-Azha.

Meanwhile, sales to around 60 lakh “digital family card” holders are continuing. An additional five lakh people are set to receive the cards after verification, as the government aims to bring a total of one crore poor households under the continuous affordable sales programme.