The Government of Tajikistan has instructed the Agency for State Material Reserves to allocate an interest-free loan in the amount of 50 million somoni (about $4.7 million) for the purchase of consumer wheat inside the republic.
The relevant government decree dated August 24, 2024, published on the legal information portal of the Ministry of Justice, states that a loan for a period of 1 year will be provided from the funds of the Stabilization Fund for Economic Development.
The Agency for State Reserves is instructed to ensure the targeted use and return of credit funds to the Stabilization Fund for Economic Development, as well as to submit a report on their intended use to the Government and the Ministry of Finance.
It should be noted that contributions to the Stabilization Fund for Economic Development come from overfulfilling the revenue side of the republican and local budgets. The state budget for 2024 states that 25% of such funds are allocated to the Fund.
The money of this Fund are usually directed to the development of the fuel and energy industry, ensuring food security in the republic, the development of social sectors and timely servicing of the state external debt.
Recall that Tajikistan's annual wheat demand is estimated at about 2 million tons. According to official statistics, in the first half of this year, over 600 thousand tons of wheat were produced in the republic itself.
An additional 464 thousand tons of these products worth more than $132 million were imported, mainly from Kazakhstan. The average cost of each imported ton was about $285.
Wheat imports increased by 10.2% in weight and 10.5% in value compared to the first half of last year. The share of wheat in the total volume of imports of the republic in the first half of this year amounted to 3.9%.
