Over the first three months of this year, Tajikistan has exported precious metals and gems for a total of 298 million US dollars, according to the Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan.
Over the reporting period, precious metals and gems have reportedly accounted for 48.65 percent of the country’s total exports.
Over the first quarter of this year, exports of goods have reportedly amounted to about 614 million US dollars.
The Agency for Statistics notes that over the reporting period, the major trading partner of Tajikistan’s exports was Switzerland – about 48.6 percent of the overall volume of Tajikistan’s exports.
This is most likely due to the supply of precious metals and gems to this country.
Official sources within the country’s relevant agencies say the export of precious metals, mainly the monetary gold, increases when remittances from labor migrants decrease significantly.
Monetary gold is gold to which the Bank as a monetary authority has title to and is held as a reserve asset. Gold includes gold bullion as well as unallocated gold accounts with non-residents that give title to claim the delivery of gold.
The link between gold sales and remittance inflows is reportedly explained by the lack of currency for importing goods and products.
Tajikistan continues to be the most remittance-dependent country globally, with approximately 30% of its gross domestic product (GDP) comprised of remittances.
The fact is that only about a third of the amount of currency needed to import goods and products can be covered by export earnings
In January-March this year, imports of goods into the country have reportedly amounted to 1.5 billion US dollars.
