DUSHANBE, August 26, 2010, Asia-Plus — The Dushanbe mayor’s office is taking efforts to curb rise in prices of basic food products during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Shavkat Saidov, a spokesman for the capital mayor’s office, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, statistical data show that prices of some essential goods at Dushanbe’s markets are today lower than in the provinces.
“Compared to the same period last year, prices of many food products have come down by 4.0 to 31.9 percent, though the national currency, the somoni, fell 15.4 percent against the dollar compared to last year, and the price of one liter of 92-octane gasoline has risen from 3.60 somoni to 4.30 somoni,” the spokesman said.
To curb rise in prices of food products Dushanbe authorities delivered more than 4,000 tons of basic food products, including meats, vegetables, fruits, wheat flour, vegetable oil and rice from the regions from August 11 to August 24. “Special commissions made up of members of the Dushanbe legislatures are working at the entrances to the city, monitoring and controlling the delivery of food products to the city,” Saidov added.
We will recall that the Dushanbe mayor’s office decided on August 7 that basic food products should be sold at lower prices during the holy month of Ramadan, from August 11 to September 10. Thus, the price of one kilogram of beef should not be higher than 18 somoni, the price of one kilogram of mutton – 19 somoni, the price for a 50-kilogram sack of grade 1 wheat flour should be sold for not more that 90 somoni. Prices of vegetable oil, milk, eggs, rice, sugar, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, carrots, cabbages, grapes, and melon crops should be brought down by 15-20 percent during Ramadan.
The Dushanbe mayor ordered to exempt farmers selling their products at Dushanbe’s bazaars without resellers as well as entrepreneurs trading in essential goods from all fees or to cut them by 50 percent during the holy month of Ramadan.
