08/09/2012 (Financial Express) - Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will import 1,500 tonnes of palm olien, a high quality brand from Malaysia on a trial basis which is expected to arrive in the country by October, officials said.

The pilot initiative is part of TCB's plan to import 20,000 tonne of refined palm olien from Malaysia to reduce dependence on local refiners and keep the market stable round the year, especially during a crisis period.

"The purpose of direct import of edible oil from Malaysia is not to intervene in the market but to strengthen its capacity through permanent sourcing," Chairman of TCB Sarwar Jahan Talukder told the FE.

The motto of such an initiative is to provide the item at an affordable price especially for the low income group of people when some unscrupulous businessmen create artificial crisis of the essential commodities and a cartel hikes the prices, he explained.

At least 25 to 30 per cent capacity is needed to intervene in the market which TCB does not have, he explained.

"If everything goes accordingly, we hope, TCB will be able to supply the oil from early next year," the TCB boss said.

The oil will be refined in Malaysia and the packaging will be done in Bangladesh, he said.

TCB will import the 1,500 tonnes of palm olien oil by examining all the procedures including costing, timing and packaging, an official of the corporation said.

The corporation has called tender for packaging and after that it will sign an agreement with the Malaysian counterpart to supply the refined oil, he said.

TCB will float international tender for 20,000 tonnes of oil within this month or early next month.

"We will sell the palm oil all the year round through our dealers in order to be competitive in the local market," he added.

According to sources, the edible oil market across the country remained highly volatile despite a substantial fall in soyabean and palm oil prices during the last few months in the international market.

Bottled edible oil of different brands, namely Rupchanda, Teer and Fresh, was selling at Tk 135 a litre, Tk 268 and Tk 270 for two litres and Tk 665 and Tk 670 for five litres Friday.

Loose soybean oil sold at Tk 135 per litre, up by Tk 3, and palm oil at Tk 105 per litre.

The monthly demand for edible oil is 115,000 to 120,000 tonnes and most of the demand is met by importers.