Biz-Econ

Govt to procure 125 lakh liters soyabean oil

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) on Wednesday approved 16 proposals, including three for procuring 125 lakh liters (12.5 million liters) of soybean oil and 5000 kilograms of lentils under the Direct Procurement Method (DPM). 

The approval was given from a CCGP meeting held virtually with Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in the chair.  

Briefing reporters virtually after the meeting, Additional Secretary of the Cabinet Division Abdul Barik said the meeting approved the three proposals of TCB under the Commerce Ministry to procure the oil and lentil. 

He said as per the proposals, some 40 lakh (4 million) liters of the edible will be procured from Super Oil Refinery with each liter price at Tk 173.95 while the remaining 85 lakh (8.5 million) liters will be purchased from three suppliers with each liter price at Tk 171. 

Of the three suppliers, Shun Shing Edible Oil Ltd, a subsidiary company of Bangladesh Edible Oil Limited (BEOL), will supply 20 lakh liters while Bashundhara Multi Food Products Limited (BMFPL), a subsidiary of Bashundhara Group, will supply 35 lakh liters and Sena Edible Oil Industry, a subsidiary of Sena Kalyan Sangstha Bangladesh, will provide 30,000 liters of soybean oil, he added. 

Some 5000 kg of lentil will be procured from three suppliers at a total cost of Tk 55.50 crore with each kg price at Tk 111, he added. 

Of these, some 3000 kg will be purchased from ACI Limited, 1000 kg from Nadil Traders, and 1000 from Roy Traders, he said.

He mentioned that the TCB, a subordinate body of the Commerce Ministry, will sell these goods to the people at controlled rates as part of the government’s open market sale (OMS) program. 

The CCGP also approved another 13 proposals from different ministries. 

Of these, the state-owned Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) will import some 120,000 metric tons of fertilizer from four international suppliers. 

Of the fertilizer, 30,000 metric tons of some 30,000 bagged prilled urea fertilizer will be procured from Muntajat of Qatar at a cost Tk 152.50 crore, while another 30,000 metric tons bagged granular from Kafco at Tk 151.57 crore. 

Some 30,000 metric tons of bulk granular urea will be imported from SABIC Agri-nutrients Company of Saudi Arabia at Tk 151.88 crore and another 30,000 metric tons from the same Saudi company at Tk 149.08 crore.

Each metric ton of urea from the four lots will cost between $443.35 and $524.50 which earlier cost between $588 and $557.87 per metric ton. 

This shows that the cost of urea fertilizer is decreasing in the global market which had crossed $1000 immediately after the Russia-Ukraine war began.  

Six separate proposals from the Chattagram Port Authority under the Ministry of Shipping received the nod of the committee to hire six berth operators at the port for the next five years.

Source: BSS