DUSHANBE, September 26, Asia-Plus – Three Tajik opposition parties – The Social-Democratic Party (SDPT), the Mirhusein Narziyev-run wing of the Socialist Party (SPT), and the Democratic Party (DPT) led by Mahmadruzi Iskandarov – have made a joint statement over a sudden spike in prices of wheat flour and bread in Tajikistan.
The statement, in particular, said that bread is the basic food product in Tajikistan and the sudden spike in prices of flour and bread had led to increase in prices of other food products.
The adopted laws on price indexing and protection of consumers’ rights do not work, according to the statement.
The parties demand that the government should take the following steps:
– to take concrete measures to stabilize the situation;
– for the purpose of refilling the grain market in the country that could promote, to a certain extent, stabilization of flour prices to cancel customs duties on grain and fuel imports until the flour prices are stabilized;
– for the purpose of protecting consumer interests the Government, the Parliament, and the Prosecutor-General’s Office should take under strict control implementation of the laws on price indexing and protection of consumers’ rights;
– The Government should elaborate a concrete medium-term program on reducing dependence of the domestic market on the world market and set prices of the basic food products in accordance with the world prices.
To elaborate this program the parties proposed to enlist the services of researchers and specialists.
The statement is signed by the SDPT leader Rahmatillo Zoirov, Mirhusein Narziyev, and Rahamtullo Valiyev, the deputy leader of the DPT run by Mahmadruzi Iskandarov.
