DUSHANBE, August 6, 2012, Asia-Plus — The Tajik authorities have begun to sell flour from the national reserve in order to avoid flurry in domestic market, Muhammadi Mulloyev, the deputy director of Tajikistan’s Public Procurement Agency (PPA) under the Government of Tajikistan, told Asia-Plus in an interview.
“Wheat flour from the national reserve now accounts only for 10 percent of the total volume of wheat flour in the domestic market,” Mulloyev said.
“We now bring flour to the market every day, but our reserves are not enough,” said Mulloyev. “It is necessary to cover at least 50 percent of the segment in order to have an influence on the market.”
The state-run fairs reportedly offer flour at prices 10% lower than the market prices.
According to him, PPA has concluded contracts with Kazakhstan’s suppliers in order to replenish its reserves and shipping of 100,000 tons of flour and 40,000 tons of wheat has already started in Kazakhstan.
Mulloyev has disproved administrative methods to curb rising food and other commodity prices. “If entrepreneur does not gain anything by selling his product at fixed prices, he will just not work and he will be right,” said Tajik official. “Nobody will work to his detriment.”
Analyzing the international data on wheat reserves, Mulloyev noted that grain productions in Russia and Kazakhstan are expected to fall sharply this year because of dry weather and wheat prices will continue rising in the future as well.
“The wheat prices may rise 20 percent in Tajikistan in autumn,” Mulloyev noted.
Meanwhile, the report by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) staff that was released on July 25 notes that as a result of very dry weather conditions in some key growing regions, Kazakhstan’s 2012 grain production is expected to drop sharply to just over half of last year’s record level. For wheat, production is expected to fall to only 12 million metric tons compared to the record of nearly 23 million metric tons in 2011. Although grain area largely was steady from last year, wheat area fell for the 3rd year in a row. However, despite sharply lower production, very large carry-in stocks will likely allow continued large export volumes in 2012/13.
Taghoymurod Sharipov, the director of Tajikistan’s State Unitary Enterprise Ghalla (Grain), notes that the current price for 50-kilgoram sack of imported grade I flour at Dushanbe”s bazaars fluctuates from 130.00 to 140.00 somoni and the current price for local grade I flour is 110.00-115.00 somoni.
Russian experts expect Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan to produce totaling 76-80 million tons of wheat this year. Last year, they reportedly produced totaling 110 million tons of wheat.
Tajikistan’s annual requirements in wheat flour are estimated at 1.6 million tons and Kazakhstan provides the bulk of Tajikistan’s grain and flour imports.
Local experts say rise in wheat and flour prices will result in prices of other basic food products increasing in Tajikistan as well.
