DUSHANBE, April 2, 2014, Asia-Plus – Prices for agricultural commodities have risen in Tajikistan but this situation has a seasonal character, according to the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MoEDT).
According to the findings of the monitoring conducted by experts from a MEDT, potato prices last month rose more than 60 percent compared to February. Current price for one kilogram of potatoes exceeds 4.00 somoni.
Current price for one kilogram of carrots is 2.00 somoni, onions – 2.50 somoni, cabbages — 3.00 somoni, cucumbers – 8.00 somoni, tomatoes and apples – 7.00 somoni each.
Prices for meats, eggs and dairy products have also risen compared to February.
“This situation is observed in Tajikistan annually. When the previous harvest is being over, vendors try to sell the remainder at higher prices,” the expert from the MoEDT told Asia-Plus in an interview.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) notes that Tajikistan imported little more than 42,000 tons of potatoes from Pakistan last year, “which is only 5-10 percent of the overall volume of Tajikistan’s potato market.”
“It means that potato imports could not affect potato prices in the country. Last year, Tajikistan produced one million tons of potatoes,” an official representative at a MoA said.
