DUSHANBE, May 31, Asia-Plus — Tajik-Korean Joint Venture “Kabool-Tajik Textiles” that suspended its activity in mid-may this year is still standing idle.
Muboraksho Makhshulov, an official with the Ministry of Economy and Trade, claims that a new method of calculating prices of cotton fiber has been just a pretext for suspending the enterprise’s activity.
“The enterprise stands idle, first of all, because of its unprofitable activity,” said Mr. Makhshulov, “According to experts estimates, a damage caused to the country’s economy by this joint venture has amounted to some US$880,000 since the mid-Nineties, when it was launched.” “The financial state of the enterprise is not so good lately and the Tajik Prosecutor-General’s Office is currently probing its activity.”
In the meantime, according to information from the Ministry of Industry, except “Kabool-Tajik Textiles”, no other textile producer in Tajikistan has so far announced suspension of its activity. The source says the industry ministry ha sent a letter to the president and the government asking to suspend introduction of the new method of calculation of the cotton fiber prices. “This issue is supposed to be solved in near future,” the source said.
As it had been reported earlier, the cotton fiber prices rose in Tajikistan in March this year. The industry ministry officials say that high domestic cotton prices are hurting Tajik producers. “If in early spring a ton of cotton fiber was sold for $948 to both domestic and foreign producers, the price has now gone up $109 for domestic producers,” Abdukarim Hikmatov, Deputy Industry Minister said. Hikmatov said that the price increase, which was intended to ease the debt burden on cotton growers, has put domestic textile producers at a disadvantage.
The rising cotton fiber prices have resulted in suspension of activity of the “Kabool-Tajik Textiles” based in northern Tajikistan. At present some 15 textiles-producing enterprises are functioning in Tajikistan. Of them, five are joint ventures.
