TCB unable to supply essentials: Tofail

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed on Sunday said the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) does not have adequate workforce required for supplying essentials to consumers across the country.

He stated this in Parliament while replying to a tabled starred question of Morshed Alam (Noakhali-2).

The Commerce Minister mentioned that the market, in open market economy, is controlled by the businesspeople.

He, however, said that a number of steps have been taken to keep the market stable.

Responding to another question of M Rejaul Haque Chowdhury (Kusthia-1), the Commerce Minister said the annual demand for edible oil is around 16-17 lakh metric tons.

Bangladesh imports edible oil from Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, Argentina, Thailand and Germany, he added.

Replying to a question of Asheque Ullah Rafique (Cox’s Bazar-2), Tofail said the government does not have any plan to import salt in the coming fiscal year.

Bangladesh imported 58,148 metric ton of salt in fiscal 2012-13, he added.