DUSHANBE, January 21, 2009, Asia-Plus -- Farmers have repaid only little more than 37.2 million somoni (TJS) of cotton loans by December 26, 2008, according to press service of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT).

In all, 371.1 million somoni were provided in loans to cotton-growing farms last year.  According central bank’s press service, the total amount consists of 211.8 million somoni of funds of lending agencies, including 140 million allocated from the national budget, and more than 159 million somoni of funds of other investors.  Cotton farmers were supposed to repay part of loans by December 1, 2008 but they failed.  

NBT specialists attribute the low rate of repayment of loans to the global financial crisis.  Because of decrease in world cotton prices and Tajikistan’s cotton exports the cotton-growing farms failed to repay loans in time and the term of repayment of loans provided by banks was extended to March 1, 2009.       

Cotton farmers are to completely repay the loans by April 1, 2009.