DUSHANBE, April 23, 2009, Asia-Plus -- Over the first three months of this year, Tajikistan has seen sharp currency devaluation.  The Tajik national currency, the somoni, has fallen 10.5 percent against the dollar and 3.4 percent against the Russian ruble over the report period.

Commenting of the somoni devaluation, the head of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT) Sharif Rahimzoda told a news conference in Dushanbe on April 22 that the exchange rate of the Tajik national currency should be brought into compliance with rates of main trading partners of Tajikistan, first of all, Russia and Tajikistan.

“If we do not want our producers to lose market for their products, our national currency should be maximally brought nearer to the rates of currencies of those countries where our products are sold, first of all, Russia and Kazakhstan,” said Rahimzoda, “It is known that this year Russia and Kazakhstan have seen significant currency devaluation: the Russian ruble has fallen by 50 percent and the Kazak tenge has fallen by 25 percent.  Our currency has also approximated the point at which it should be.”

“We just could not allow ourselves what Kazakhs had done – to lower the rate of the tenge against the dollar by 25 percent in a day.  To initiate such weakening of the somoni we would need too many money in order to hold this rate.”  Therefore, we are bringing the somoni rate down to the necessary point gradually and it is a normal process, he said.  

He added that because of significant difference in the rates of our currencies Tajik producers now got for their goods in the Russian Federation 25 percent less than last year.