DUSHANBE, September 19, Asia-Plus — Recently, the agriculture ministers of Tajikistan and Kazakhstan signed on an agreement on delivery of 150,000 tons of Kazakh grain to Tajikistan.
Although this agreement has come into effect just now and new grain supplies have not yet been provided, prices of wheat flour the Tajik capital have dropped from 120 to 90 somonis per a 50-kilogram sack.
A working group set up at the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MoEDT) is trying to find out reasons for such a sudden price cut. Farrukh Soliyev, the head of the MoEDT marketing trade regulation department, who heads the working commission, said, “Our main task is to monitor and analyze the bread price situation.” “We do not yet know what has caused surge of flour prices, but we do not have the right to dictate our demands to market. However, if it turns out that the flour prices were raised artificially by local entrepreneurs, things will take another turn.”
Soliyev further added that it cannot be ruled out that the flour prices will come down 60-70 somonis per a 50-kilogram sack.
According to the MoEDT, the flour supplies situation in Tajikistan usually becomes complicated in August-September. This year, the situation has been aggravated by increase in energy prices. Besides, the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan this year has coincided with soaring prices for bread, flour, and wheat in Tajikistan.
According to specialists, the price hike has also resulted from rising cost of grain and flour in Kazakhstan, which provides the bulk of Tajikistan’s grain and flour imports. Tajikistan also imports flour from Uzbekistan. “Every year in August-September, Kazakhstan carries out fumigations, eliminating insects from elevators, and therefore, a certain deficiency of flour occurs during this period that leads to increase in flour prices,” Soliyev said.
Experts also say the reasons behind the surging prices are not local, and that prices have gone up worldwide, following various natural disasters such as drought, flooding, etc.
As it had been reported earlier, prices for bread and other wheat products in Tajikistan rose considerably in early September, causing hardship for many people and the government immediately set up a special commission to address the crisis. The price of a 50-kilogram sack of flour rose to an average of 120 somonis, which triggered a surge in prices for bread in the country.
To tackle the problem the MoEDT has proposed to reduce VAT for grain imports to 10 percent.
