Govt to purchase 2 crore litres of refined palm olein

The government has greenlit a proposal to procure two crore litres of refined palm olein to bolster the national supply of edible oil. 

The decision was made during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Public Procurement held at the Secretariat on Tuesday.

Presided over by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, the committee approved the purchase under a local open tender method. According to the Ministry of Commerce, the total cost for the procurement is estimated at Tk 368.90 crore.

The edible oil will be packaged and distributed in two-litre PET bottles. The supply responsibility has been split between two major local firms: Sonargaon Seeds Crushing Mills Ltd and Shabnam Vegetable Oil Industries Limited, with each company set to provide 10 million litres of the commodity.

Refined palm olein is a liquid derivative obtained through the fractionation of palm oil, specifically processed to ensure it remains in a liquid state at room temperature, making it a staple for household cooking and industrial food preparation.