TCB suffers Tk 147m loss in two fiscal years

The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) has sought Tk 147 million in subsidies from the government to make up for the financial loss that it had incurred in the last two financial years.

The state-run agency suffers the financial loss as it often sells essential commodities at subsidised rates to keep their prices stable.

The bulk of the financial loss came from the selling of five essential items -- gram, date, lentil, sugar, and edible oil -- especially during the month of holy Ramadan.

The TCB sold 1,954 tonnes of gram in the last two fiscal years. The corporation bought the said volume of gram at about Tk 140 million but sold them at about Tk 86 million, witnessing a loss of Tk 53 million.

The corporation sold nearly 100 tonnes of date at over Tk 10 million, but the procurement cost was about Tk 12 million. A loss of Tk 1.65 million has been incurred due to the date selling.

The sale of lentil at subsidised rates also caused a loss of nearly Tk 38 million in the last two fiscal years.

During the period, the TCB sold 1,378 tonnes of lentil after importing them from Australia at a cost of Tk 98.41 million. The selling price of lentil was Tk 60.38 million.

The corporation sold 1,558 tonnes of sugar at about Tk 73 million, which it bought at a cost of Tk 98 million from local sources. A loss of Tk 24.90 million was incurred in this case.

The TCB also incurred a loss of Tk 26 million by selling 1.18 million litres of edible oil during the last two fiscal years.

The corporation bought the oil from local sources at a cost of Tk 121.88 million and sold them at Tk 95.59 million.

In a letter sent to the ministry of commerce recently, the TCB said it takes out loans at an interest rate between 9.0 per cent and 12 per cent from local banks against the state guarantees to import commodities.

In the case of the items bought from local sources, the TCB had to pay advance income tax at rates between 2.0 per cent and 7.0 per cent while the dealers were given between Tk 3.50 and Tk 6.50 per litre/kilogram in operating costs, which resulted in losses, it added.

Contacted, a senior commerce ministry official told the FE on Thursday that the government tries to intervene in the market by selling essential commodities at subsidised rates through TCB.

In the event of unusual price hike of commodities in the market, such intervention contributes to bringing down the prices to some extent, he added.

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