KHUJAND, January 17, 2009, Asia-Plus — Cotton farmers in the northern Sughd province now owe 81 million somoni to local banks, other investors and budget, Inomjon Hojiboyev, head of the economic information and statistics department within the branch of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT) in Khujand, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, this debt was formed last year when local farming units took loans for cotton sowing and harvesting campaign.
In all, 92.4 million somoni were provided to Sughd cotton farmers n loans last year. This amount includes 29 million somoni allocated from the budget and 48 million somoni provided by investors, Hojiboyev noted.
“Last year, Sughd cotton farmers concluded contracts with eight banks and nine investors,” the NBT’s branch official said.
