Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), a commerce ministry wing that deals with trade and business, needs to be strengthened with increased capacity and financial support to perform properly.
Due to lack of capacity, it is unable to reach service to the majority of people, especially the lower income group.
However, officials concerned hope they can expand their service wing more to every corner of the country, if their capacity increases.
On condition of anonymity, not to be named, a TCB official said, If our warehouse capacities and purchasing capabilities increase together with the removal of the financial crisis, as a government wing, we can contribute more and reach our services to more people.
According to TCB information, due to lack of warehouse spaces, a huge amount of money has to be spent on rent. But the organisation is having a financial crisis.
Its own warehouse capacity is 6840 tons whereas it has to incur additional rent for warehouse to stock essentials. On the other hand, due to the financial crisis, it has to show the government and others while going through any purchase. If those problems can be identified taking proper measures, it would be able to provide greater service to the nation, said the official.
TCB information showed, to ensure food security, initiatives were taken to increase the institutional and stock capacity of TCB five years ago. To strengthen TCB financially, the authorized capital of the company was increased from Tk 500 crore to Tk 1,000 crore by amending the Presidential Order of 1972. In February 2015, the bill was passed in the parliament. But the money has not yet been released by the Ministry of Finance. As a result, TCB has to rely on government guarantees to procure products.
When the institution is looking for its capital money release, the existing scenario of the state owned marketing agency is troublesome.
The only earning source of TCB is its own building. From its rental earnings it has to pay salaries, wages, and pensions to retired people.
However, the institution, several times, wrote to the concerned ministry to release the money. It also even proposed to release the money in installments, but has not got any response as yet.
Recently, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said that TCB has been asked to move ahead with the work, when required, the necessary money will be released.
Analysts believe that the capacity of TCB needs to be increased as its current activities have increased significantly. For this, in order to increase the capacity, it is necessary to buy or acquire land, build its own warehouse and increase the manpower. They also believe that if the authorized capital is given to the TCB, the government's subsidy will be greatly reduced.
It is to be noted, when production is less than the total demand for daily necessities, the gap between supply and demand is filled through imports. In this case, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that no unscrupulous clique can unreasonably decrease the supply of essential commodities or increase prices. TCB is the system of government through which the prices of essential commodities can be kept stable.
