DUSHANBE, March 25, 2016, Asia-Plus – Russia’s Central Bank reported last week that the amount of money transferred to Tajikistan from Russia last year has fallen 66.6 percent, from 3.831 billion U.S. dollars in 2014 to 1.278 billion U.S. dollars in 2015.
In 2013, the figure was reportedly 4.155 billion U.S. dollars.
The fall in remittances has affected all countries in the region, according to Russia’s Central bank. In Uzbekistan, remittances fell to 2.37 billion U.S. dollars last year from 5.581 billion U.S. dollars in 2014. In Kyrgyzstan, remittances reportedly dropped from 2.03 billion U.S. dollars in 2014 to 1.08 billion U.S. dollars last year.
There are two obvious underlying causes for the drop in remittances. One is the fall in the value of the Russian ruble. The economic slump has also led to a 25 percent drop in the number of Tajiks going to Russia between 2014 and 2015.
Meanwhile, prices for basic food products are on the rise in Tajikistan and the country’s national currency, the somoni, is continuing to depreciate against the dollar.
