DUSAHNBE, August 10, Asia-Plus – Tajikistan’s grain farmers are taking real measures to gather wheat on time and fulfill the national target, which has been determined at 784,000 tons of wheat, Sherali Safarov, the head of the grain crops department of the Ministry of Agriculture, remarked in his interview with Asia-Plus today.
An average wheat yields have amounted to 1.75 tons/ha, according to Mr. Safarov.
The republic has gathered wheat from the area of 183,135 hectares so far, which is 65 percent of a total area sown with wheat this year.
Gain farmers of the southern province of Khatlon have gathered 184,000 tons of wheat so far. Farmers in the northern province of Sughd have gathered 61,300 tons of wheat so far, and grain farms in the districts subordinate to the center have gathered 53,600 tons of wheat, according to Sherali Safarov.
The Asia-Plus interlocutor has noted that unfavorable weather conditions have impeded gathering of cereals in northern Tajikistan.
According to specialists from the Ministry of Economy and Trade, the national target on cereals for this year has been determined at 1.2 million tons of cereals, including 784,000 tons of wheat. This year, 282,700 hectares of farmland in Tajikistan have been sown with cereals.
Last year, Tajik grain farmers gathered 934,880 tons of cereals.
Sherali Safarov has noted that Tajikistan’s annual requirement in cereals amounts to more than 1.5 million tons.
In the meantime, The “Ghalla” (grain supply) top manager Akram Ruziyev has told Asia-plus that at present Tajikistan does not experience shortage of wheat and flour. According to him, 123,200 tons of wheat and 189,300 tons of wheat flour have been delivered to Tajikistan since the beginning of the year. Kazakhstan remains the main supplier of wheat and wheat flour to Tajikistan. “This country accounts to some 90 percent of Tajikistan’s grain imports,” Mr. Ruziyev said, noting that Russia and Uzbekistan also provide a bulk of Tajikistan’s grain imports.
Mr. Ruziyev noted that prices of wheat flour on the country’s markets have risen since this month. It has resulted from rising exchange rate of USD and rising prices of transportation. At present the wheat flour is sold on the markets of Dushanbe at the rate of 45-50 Somonis per 50 kilograms, depending to its grade.
According to information from the Ministry of Economy and Trade, a 6 percent increase in the prices of basic food products, including meat, eggs, sugar, has been reported in the country over the past month.
