DUSHANBE, January 19, 2013, Asia-Plus — The Tajik authority have imposed temporary ban on collection of ferula in order to restore areas under this plant during this year, Madibron Saidov, the deputy director of the Forest and Hunting Agency, Committee for Environmental Protection told Asia-Plus in an interview.
“Only the companies that have special enterprises for processing ferula will be engaged in collection of ferula,” said Saidov. “There are two such companies in Tajikistan – Faroz and Sarchashmai Javoni.”
According to him, ferula collected in Tajikistan is mainly exported to Afghanistan and India. “The price of one kilogram of ferule has fallen from 100.00 USD in 2009 to 40.00-50.00 USD,” Saidov noted.
Talbak Salimov, the head of the Committee for Environmental Protection, noted that that according to findings by the committee, areas under ferula reduced last year, and therefore, it is necessary to impose temporary ban on ferula collection.
In 2011, 173 tons of ferula were produced in Tajikistan; of this amount, 163 tons were produced by Faroz and the remaining 10 tons were produced by Sarchashmai Javoni. In 2012, these companies produced 100 tons and ten tons of ferula respectively.
An official source at Faroz says the company established a special enterprise for ferula processing in 2008. To-date, Faroz has planted ferula on more than 14,300 hectares in Khatlon province, the source added.
The Committee for Environmental Protection has reportedly made a contract with Faroz on cultivating ferula on 128,000 hectares and a contract with Sarchashmai Javoni on cultivating ferula on 45,000 hectares.
Ferula is a genus of about 170 species of flowering plants in the family Apiacease, mostly growing in arid climates. Several species of ferula grow in Tajikistan. One of species of ferula native to Iran and Central Asia is Asafoetida (Ferula assafoetida). It is an herbaceous perennial plant growing to 2 m tall, with stout, hollow, somewhat succulent stems 5-8 cm diameter at the base of the plant. Asafoetida has certain medicinal uses and most commonly is used as a digestive aid. It is reputed to lessen flatulence and is often added to lentil or eggplant dishes in small quantities. It is also said to be helpful in cases of asthma and bronchitis.
