The government today will start selling soybean oil, potatoes, onions, and lentils at subsidised rates in Dhaka to alleviate the suffering of low-income consumers, especially those without TCB family cards.

The programme will run alongside the monthly sale of subsidised essentials conducted by the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) among one crore family cardholders across the country.

The special initiative has been taken to stabilise commodity prices in the capital's kitchen markets, said Senior Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh at a press conference in the secretariat yesterday.

The goods will be sold on 30 OMS (open market sale) trucks stationed at different locations throughout both city corporations, with the goal of reaching 9,000 beneficiaries on the weekdays.

Soybean oil will be sold at Tk 100 per litre, potato at Tk 30 per kilogramme (kg), onion at Tk 50 a kg and lentil at Tk 60 per kg.

A consumer can purchase each item for a maximum of two kilogrammes.

Ghosh said the government has instructed cold storage owners to sell potatoes at Tk 27 per kg at the wholesale level and Tk 36 per kg at the retail level.

The government has also permitted the import of 25 crore eggs and 2 lakh tonnes of potatoes and will continue to allow imports until the prices of these goods fall in the domestic markets, he added.

So far, 62,000 eggs and 10,095 tonnes of potatoes have been imported.

Ghosh also said the Bangladesh Competition Commission (BCC) has been conducting inquiries against the alleged involvement of local conglomerates in price manipulation of essential commodities and other consumer goods.

So far, the BCC filed 65 cases against errant conglomerates and fined two local companies Tk 8 crore over price manipulation.