DUSHANBE, July 24, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose 7.3 percent in the year to July 1, 2007, reaching 4.788 billion somonis, Murodali Alimardonov, Chairman of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT), remarked at a news conference in Dushanbe on July 24.
According to him, over the first six months of this year, the GDP growth has amounted to 1.264 billion somonis, with a 9 percent increase in the industrial sector and a 6.5 percent in the agrarian sector.
Tajik central bank head noted that inflation rate for the first six months of 2007 had stood at 3.5 percent, which is 3.1 percent lower than in the same period of last year.
Since the beginning of the year, prices of products of the food industry have increased on average 2.6 percent, while non-foodstuffs have risen in cost by 1.9 percent, and paid services rendered to the population have risen in cost by 10.8 percent.
“The inflation dynamic has resulted from increase in prices of imported goods and decrease of prices of goods exported from Tajikistan, as well as intensification of regional trade,” Alimardonov said.
Speaking to journalists, the NBT chairman noted that over the report period, the average weighted USD rate has risen 0.4 percent, reaching 3.4394 somonis, while in January-June 2006, it was 3.4265
According to Alimardonov, the deficit of Tajikistan’s foreign trade turnover rose 64.1 percent in the year to July 1, 2007, reaching $76.6 million or 12.9 percent of GDP. Exports of goods in the past six months have risen 17.8 percent and imports of goods into the country have risen 28.3 percent, Tajik central bank head said.
On the banking system of Tajikistan, Alimardonov said that at present nine banks, eight credit organizations and 68 non-banking financial structures operate in the country. Additionally, a branch of Iran’s Tejarat Bank also function in Tajikistan. .
Dwelling on deposits, the NBT head said that they had amounted to 1.3545 billion somonis by the beginning of June and increased by 22.2 percent since the beginning of the year. “Banks pay a special attention to the issue of providing small loans, especially to remote mountain areas,” said Alimardonov, “In the past six months, ”Banks and other credit organizations have provided small loans for a total amount of 437.5 million somonis, which is 202.1 million somonis or 90 percent more than in the same period of 2006.”
He also pointed to the necessity of introduction of mortgage crediting in Tajikistan. For this, it is necessary to adopt a mortgage legislation loan, Alimardonov said.
