The government has started importing lentils and rice-bran oil for distribution among lower-income people during the upcoming Ramadan.

The foodstuffs will be distributed at subsidised rates under the Open Market Sale (OMS) initiative or among roughly one crore family card holders of the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase yesterday approved the import of 20,000 tonnes of lentils and 1.20 crore litres of rice-bran oil at a cost of Tk 201.59 crore and Tk 189.60 crore respectively.

Sources at the cabinet committee said the government plans to import a total of 2.88 lakh tonnes of lentils and 28.80 lakh litres of rice-bran oil in fiscal 2023-24.

Of the amount, the government has already imported 1.52 lakh tonnes of lentils and 15.45 lakh litres of rice-bran oil.

The 20,000 tonnes of lentils will be imported in two different consignments of 10,000 tonnes each.

Half of the lentils will be jointly supplied by Roy Agro Food Products Ltd and Nabil Naba Foods Ltd at Tk 105.45 per kilogramme. India's Uma Expo Pvt Ltd will provide the rest at Tk 101.13 per kilogramme.

Majumdar Products Ltd, Majumdar Bran Oil Mills Ltd and Ali Natural Oil Mills and Agro Industries will collectively supply the rice-bran oil at Tk 158 per litre.

Presided over by the new Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, yesterday's meeting at the cabinet division was the first to be held in-person since the Covid-19 pandemic.

In what was the first meeting held this year, the cabinet committee approved purchases worth Tk 2,305 crore, of which Tk 1,141 crore will be arranged through borrowing.

Of the approved proposals, one was for importing 33.60 lakh MMbtus of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the international spot market.

Switzerland-based TotalEnergies Gas and Power Ltd will supply the fuel at a cost of Tk 470.48 crore while the unit cost will be $10.88.

Bangladesh will also import 2.60 lakh tonnes of fertilisers, including urea, TSP and DAP, at a cost of Tk 1,038 crore from Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Russia through Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company Limited.

Payments for the fertiliser will be arranged from local Bank loans, according to meeting sources.