KULOB, March 4, 2009, Asia-Plus — Last year, banks in Kulob provided 27,471,996 somoni of state funds in loans to local cotton farmers for 2008 cotton sowing and harvesting campaign. As of March 1, 2009, farming units in four cotton-growing districts of Khatlon’s Kulob region have repaid to local banks only 9,971,430 somoni, or 36.3 percent of the state cotton loan principal, Abdukarim Nematov, the head of the branch of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT) in Kulob, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
They have also paid 2,307,937 somoni of interest on the loan, Nematov said.
“In the meantime, of 12,559,700 somoni of own funds of banks provided to local cotton in loans last year, 3,448,802 somoni have been repaid by March 1,” said Nematov, “Cotton farmers have also paid 1,43,441 somoni of interest on these loans.”
Despite the low rate of repayment of loans, banks in Kulob have begun providing cotton loans for this year. Thus, Agroinvestbonk’s branches in the Kulob region have already provided totaling nearly 310,000 somoni in loans for this year’s cotton campaign.
In all, local banks have received cotton loan applications for a total amount of 22,275,515 somoni from 456 local cotton-growing farms so far. Amonatbonk (Tajikistan’s savings bank) alone has received cotton loan applications for 10,331,640 somoni from 165 farming units.
