DUSHANBE, June 3, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- As of June 1, 2009, banks have provided some 34 million somoni in loans to farming units.  Of this amount, more than 29 million somoni are a government credit.  We will recall that government gives a 180 million somoni credit through a number of banks to farming units this year.  This year, the government credit is provides to banks at 10 percent annual interest and they should provide loans to farmers at the annual interest rate of not more than 14 percent.

Besides, 1.16 million somoni have been provided to farmers by the futures companies to this date.   

According to the economic policy and prognosis directorate within the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), six banks have received loan applications from farming units for a total amount of 105.2 million somoni so far.

Last year, the government gave a 140 million somoni credit to farmers and only some 46.7 percent (65.359 million somoni) of that has been repaid so far.

The MoA specialists consider that president’s decree of May 30 on additional measures to support the country’s agrarian sector will promote solution of the cotton subsector debt problem and give a new impulse for development of it. 

As it had been reported earlier, by president’s decree debts that had arisen in the cotton subsector before January 1, 2008 should be settled by means of writing off debts, discounting, extending debt repayments and allowing repayment of debts by instalments, as well as issuing state securities. The government jointly with the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT) is to ensure repayment of residual debt to investors and set up an appropriate structure within a month period to ensure an order of restructuring the cotton subsector debt, monitoring and controlling timely repayment of debts to investors as well as the process of writing off the farms’ debts.

In the meantime, according to the MoA data, cotton farmers had owned more than 410 million U.S. dollars to their creditors by January 1, 2008.