QURGHON TEPPA, November 27, 2008, Asia-Plus  -- Cotton-growing farms in Khatlon’s Khuroson district have repaid only 20 percent of loans provided by Amonatbonk (Tajikistan’s savings bank), the head of Amonatbonk’s branch in Khuroson Zaynullo Bobojonov said.  

According to him, the branch has funded 20 cotton-growing farms in this district this year through providing them with 497,000 somoni in loans.  These farming units have planted cotton on an area of totaling 284 hectares.  

“We expected them to have repaid 50 percent of loans by December 1, however, we have received only 20 percent so far,” Bobojonov said, noting that by government’s resolution cotton-growing farms are to repay 50 percent of loans by December 1 2008 and the remainder should be paid by April 30, 2009.  

In the meantime, Bobokhouja Rustamov, the head of the banking activities department within the branch of TojPromBank in Khuroson, said that they had provided 742,800 somoni in loans to local cotton farmers and they had repaid only 100,166 somoni so far.