Tag Archives: economy

Tajikistan’s meat price rises

JULY 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – President Emomali Rakhmon and key figures in his regime have criticised an “artificial” spike in the price of meat during the holy month of Ramadan.

As Ramadan began, Tajik media reported a jump in the price of a kilo of meat from $6-7 to $8-9. Other products saw smaller increases. Last Ramadan saw similar jumps, suggesting collusion in the country’s urban markets, where costs are highest.

Mr Rakhmon’s attack on the meat cartels should be understood less as a defence of religion — an embarrassing video of him dancing drunk at his son’s wedding became an internet sensation when it was leaked in May 2013 — and more as sensitivity over price changes that could precipitate instability. GDP is expected to grow by 7% this year, but inflation, at 7.7% for the first half of this year, is more than keeping up.

“Prices for petrol are lower than they have been in recent years, there is enough feed for the animals and the price of meat should not be rising,” said Mr Rakhmon.

The Mayor of Dushanbe, Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloev, backed Mr Rakhmon’s stance emphasising the need to punish “shameless” butchers working out of the capital’s main bazaars.

Food assumes a special importance during the month of Ramadan when daytime fasting gives way to night time gorging. The Day of Eid holiday after the fasting period is associated with elaborate feasts.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)

Azerbaijan’s gas exports to Georgia rise

JULY 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia has imported 20% more gas from Azerbaijan this year compared to the same period in 2013, media reported. This shows the increasing inter-dependency of the countries in the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan is Georgia’s largest gas supplier.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)

Kazakh Air Astana plans IPO

JUNE 26 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Air Astana will aim for an IPO within three years, Peter Foster, its CEO, said, according to media. Samruk-Kazyna, the Kazakh sovereign wealth fund owns 51% of Air Astana and BAE Systems (formerly British Aerospace) owns 49%. The Kazakh government has been looking to privatise various companies it owns.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)

Uzbekistan doubles uranium export

JUNE 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan will almost double the amount of uranium it sends to South Korea, media reported after a trip by South Korean President Park Geun-hye. Ms Geun-hye has been on a tour of Central Asia, building relations and making business deals.

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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)

Armenia cuts interest rates again

JUNE 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s Central Bank cut its key interest rate by 0.25% for the third time this year because of continued falling inflation.

The new 7% interest rate is the lowest set by the Armenian Central Bank for four years, reflecting concern over an economy that is bouncing along the bottom of economists’ forecasts.

Like other parts of the former Soviet Union, the unrest in Ukraine and the sanctions on Russia have impacted Armenia and slowed its economic prospects.

The Central Bank was succinct.

“There was 0.8 percent of deflation in May of 2014,” it said.

“In the coming months, the Board considers, that the inflation rate will keep on easing as the impact of energy prices, increased in July 2013, phases out, and it will further pace down (to) the lower boundary of the confidence band most probably during the third quarter.”

In other words, Armenia’s Central Bank is gently warning that its economic indicators will worsen further before there is any sign of improvement.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)

Doctors’ salaries to rise in Kazakhstan

JUNE 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Doctors and nurses will receive a 28% salary rise next year, media quoted health minister Salidat Kairbekova as saying. Medical workers have long complained that they are underpaid, especially since a 20% devaluation of the tenge this year. Nurses in Kazakhstan are currently paid $436/month; doctors $620/month.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)

Ukraine unrest hurts Kazakh economy

JUNE 18 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – So, now it is official. The unrest in Ukraine is negatively impacting Kazakhstan’s economy, economy minister Yerbolat Dossayev said at a routine press conference.

Economists have been downgrading Kazakhstan’s growth predictions this year because of increased fighting in Ukraine and international sanctions on Russia after it annexed Crimea but this is the first official confirmation.

“The poor growth rate of industrial production, the slowdown of investment activities, high levels of non- performing loans, and the crisis in Ukraine are the main risks to Kazakhstan’s economy,” Mr Dossayev said.

Kazakhstan is now looking at GDP growth this year of around 4% rather than the 6% it first hoped to hit.

Rasul Zhumaly, a political analyst for the exclusive.kz website explained the impact of the Ukraine unrest on Kazakhstan.

“(There is a) high level of interdependence among these post-Soviet economies,” he said. “The Ukrainian situation is negatively affecting the Russian economy and this in turn is closing some avenues for the development of Kazakhstan.”

There is, though, a sneaking suspicion that the Kazakh officials may be starting to use Ukraine as an excuse, shielding genuine structural problems in the economy from attention.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)

Problems mount in Kyrgyz farming

JUNE 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz agriculture accounts for around a fifth of GDP and just under half the country’s employment according to the country’s National Statistics Committee, yet many farmers say the sector is on its knees.

As Kyrgyzstan prepares for entry into the Eurasian Economic Union comprising Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, discussions over farming’s future are only likely to intensify.

On June 12, Alibek Rakaev, Head of the Association of Pastoralists told journalists that meat production in the country was falling due to the prevalence of diseases that village vets have proven unable to diagnose or treat. Livestock farming was in a “critical condition”, he said.

Back in Soviet times Kyrgyzstan’s meat and dairy products were exported all over the Union, but neighbouring Kazakhstan now views Kyrgyzstan’s products with caution and has banned import of Kyrgyz milk and meat in the past. The Eurasian Economic Union has even tighter controls.

Poultry farmers might welcome membership, with high tariffs on non-Union imports potentially restricting the flow of Chinese chicken and eggs onto the domestic market, but for Kyrgyzstan’s crop-growers, Jomart Jumabekov, a member of the Public Advisory Board on the Ministry of Agriculture, said, closer integration with Russia and Kyrgyzstan means problems.

“I view the Customs Union negatively. Russian and Kazakh wheat and grains already dominate our market,” Mr Jumabekov told the Conway Bulletin. “With even fewer barriers to trade with these countries, we will stop growing even a small proportion of our own food. No-one will till the land.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)

Russia restricts Tajik migrants

JUNE 23 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia has tightened entry rules for Tajik migrants, media reported, threatening a major source of Tajikistan’s income. Tajik citizens will now only be allowed to enter Russia on their official passport and not ID cards. Remittances from Russia make up 50% of Tajikistan’s GDP.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)

Unrest brew in Uzbek autonomous republic

JUNE 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Reports on the internet have surfaced which suggest that unrest may be brewing in Karakalpakstan, the remote western region of Uzbekistan. Karakalpakstan is officially an autonomous republic although in practice this mean little. Reports said protesters demonstrating at job cuts at a gas processing plant had been arrested.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)