Finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed on Wednesday said the ongoing political development between Bangladesh and India would not adversely impact trades between the two countries.
Politics should not matter on trade and commercial issues, he said while responding to a question after a meeting of the cabinet committee on government purchase at the secretariat which approved importing rice from India and Myanmar.
The meeting, chaired by the finance adviser, held a day after Bangladesh mission at Agartala in India was closed on security ground on Tuesday while Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma was summoned on the same day by the foreign ministry in Dhaka over the 鈥榟einous attack鈥� on its mission in Agartala.
Mondol Stone Products Pvt Limited of West Bengal in India won an open tender to supply 50,000 tonnes non-Basmati with per tonne costing $467 while Myanmar Rice Foundation will supply 1 lakh tonnes Atap under the government-to-government arrangement with per tonne costing $515.
The finance adviser said the government would purchase quality goods from the suppliers from any country be it India or other countries.
Informing that the government is also discussing with Vietnam to import rice, Salehuddin Ahmed said the politics had no place in trades.
Asked to make comments on threats by politicians in West Bengal to suspend trade through Benapole land port, the finance adviser said he would not show any extreme reactions.
The India businesses will protest at such threats since they export surplus agriculture outputs, said the finance adviser.
The finance adviser said the commodity market was giving signs of stability and hoped that price hikes of commodity would be checked in coming days.
The commodity prices will remain at comfortable level in the upcoming Ramadan, he hoped.
Once again asking the country people to be patient, he said the government was trying to increase the import of edible oil, price of which increased in the international market recently.
The cabinet committee on government purchase also approved procurement of 60,000 tonnes of fertiliser, 30,000 tonnes of rock phosphate and 5,000 tonnes sugar.
Under a local open tender, City Sugar Industries Ltd Dhaka will supply the sugar with per kg sugar costing Tk聽118.43 to Trading Corporation Bangladesh.
Besides, the TCB will also procure 10,000 tonnes of lentil under a local open tender from Payel Traders, Chattogram with per kilogramme costing Tk聽96.69.
The finance adviser also presided over a meeting on the cabinet committee on economic affairs on the same day and agreed in principle to buy Essential Programme on Immunisation vaccines directly through UNICEF under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation.
