Dhaka, June 2 -- The government has provided Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) with Tk 150 billion as subsidy to help offset its trade gap for current fiscal 2024-'25 on account of selling key essentials at subsidised rates.

The Ministry of Finance has already issued an order to this effect recently, according to officials.

Earlier, the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) sought the said amount of subsidy from the government for the period between July 01, 2023 and June 30, 2024.

The TCB, the state-run trading entity, sold some essential commodities including edible oil, lentils, sugar at subsidised prices among the lower income people, aiming to help keep their prices stable in the market.

The TCB would be able to utilise the fund only ...