KULOB, September 4, 2008, Asia-Plus — The price for a 50-kilogram sack of Kazakh grade 1 wheat flour on markets in Kulob has been reduced from 125 to 122 somonis and the price for a 50-kilogram sack of Kazakh grade 2 wheat flour has also dropped by 3 somonis – from 120 to 117 somonis.
One of flour vendors in Kulob, Sirojiddin Ismoilov, attributes this reduction of prices to the fact that Kazakhstan lifted a ban on grain exports on September 1. According to him, when it became known on August 16 that Kazakhstan intends to lift grain export ban, entrepreneurs from Kulob left for Kazakhstan to sign grain purchase agreements. “The first bulk of Kazakh wheat flour was realized from warehouse in Dushanbe wholesale at the rate of 116 somonis for the 50-kilogram sack,” Ismoilov said.
The Kulob entrepreneur has also expressed confidence that flour prices will be reduced even more within the next few days due to competition of Russia and Kazakhstan on the grain market. “Following Kazakhstan’s lifting the grain export bank, Russian grain producers will probably also reduce grain export prices,” Ismoilov said, noting that Russian wheat flour is currently realized from warehouses in Dushanbe wholesale at the rate of 115 somonis per 50-kilogram sack.
