The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) plans to start selling packaged turmeric powder, chilli powder and tea from November, to widen the range of goods for consumers, increase its commercial income and reduce its reliance on government subsidies.
TCB Chairman Brigadier General Mohammad Faisal Azad said the range of commercial products was being expanded to strengthen the organisation’s finances while continuing to supply consumers with essentials at affordable prices.
“We have already started selling soap and detergent. We plan to sell packaged turmeric and chilli powder from November. We have also received approval to sell tea. We hope to bring it to market in November,” he said.
The TCB chairman said the organisation is also planning to sell flour. Several more products will be considered after testing market demand, and a market survey is under way for that purpose. If the results are positive, new products will be launched.
TCB is widening its range as part of a plan to become financially self-reliant within the next four to five years, by earning more from commercial operations and depending less on government subsidy.
The organisation has already started selling laundry soap, bathing soap, detergent and salt. These are sold below prevailing market prices but above their purchase cost.
As a result, consumers get essentials at affordable prices, and TCB makes a small profit on them.
In the 2025-26 fiscal year, TCB made a profit of Tk 24.37 crore from its commercial operations.
Faisal Azad said the organisation’s income would rise if it could widen its range and reach more consumers. “Our goal is to earn additional income by expanding our product range,” he said.
He said that if TCB could reach one crore customers with its expanded range, it could gain about Tk 700 crore in additional income or financial benefit. Actual income, however, will depend on sales volume and operational efficiency.
TCB currently reaches about 50 lakh customers a month with its new commercial products. The target for the current fiscal year is to raise that to 70 to 80 lakh, and the organisation plans to take the customer base to one crore next fiscal year.
The TCB chairman said the new products went on sale only four months ago and the response from customers has been fairly good, though the organisation wants more customers.
He said prices of existing subsidised goods would not rise because of the new products. Whether to buy the new products will be up to consumers.
“The government has no plan to raise the prices of the goods currently sold under subsidy. They will continue to be sold at the old prices,” he said.
Asked whether the new products would also be sold below market prices, the TCB chairman said: “Yes, the prices of the new products will also be lower than prevailing market prices.”
He said TCB has chosen to widen its range step by step rather than make every change at once. The aim is to let consumers buy most of their regular essentials in one place, at the organisation’s sales points.
TCB is also exploring selling essentials such as edible oil, lentils and sugar outside its smart card-based distribution programme. A pilot for selling edible oil is under way for this purpose, and the organisation has invited applications from prospective dealers under the proposed programme.
Alongside diversifying its products, TCB has moved to cut financing and operating costs. As part of this, it plans to buy sugar and lentils with cash instead of bank loans. It has also started using private banks that offered comparatively lower interest rates, and introduced a system to deposit sales proceeds directly into bank accounts through an application programming interface (API).
The organisation has also started distributing goods directly from regional warehouses to cut transport, loading and unloading and related costs.
The TCB chairman said diversifying products is essential to reduce the subsidy burden while keeping prices affordable for consumers. Cutting costs alone cannot ease the pressure of subsidies; income must rise at the same time.
“We cannot reduce the subsidy burden just by cutting costs. We also have to increase our income,” he said.
The organisation expects its commercial operations to grow stronger as new spices, tea and other essentials are added and the customer base expands. That will make it easier to reach its long-term goal of financial self-reliance.
Faisal Azad said the new products would also be sold below market prices. That is why a phased expansion plan over four to five years has been adopted. Making every change at once is not possible, he said.
“We have already brought several products to market. We plan to add more in the coming months,” he said.
He also noted that a family could save several thousand taka a year if it could regularly buy essentials at low prices from TCB.
“We want people to come to TCB sales points and buy the goods they need every month. The product range will be widened gradually. But to reduce the subsidy burden and earn additional income, we have to increase the number of products,” he said.
TCB buys onions according to market conditions
On procurement plans, the TCB chairman said purchases of sugar and other regular goods are continuing. Toilet soap and laundry soap are also being bought according to operational needs.
TCB does not, however, buy onions and potatoes regularly throughout the year. It buys them when the government considers it necessary in view of market conditions.
“We bought onions in 2022, 2023 and 2024. At present there is no onion shortage, so there is no plan to buy onions again right now,” he said.
He added that onions and potatoes would be procured whenever the government sees a need, depending on market conditions. TCB has no plan to buy these goods throughout the year without considering demand and supply.
Following such a policy allows goods to be procured according to market demand and supply and the government’s needs.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report