DUSHANBE, August 18, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- Over the past two days, gasoline prices in Dushanbe have risen more than 7 percent.

Thus, the price one liter of 95-octane gasoline in Dushanbe has risen from 3.50-3.60 somoni on August 16 to 3.80-3.90 somoni.  Moreover, refueling stations in Dushanbe now reportedly do not have 76-octane and 92-octane gasoline.

Asia-Plus today applied to the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) asking to comment on the situation but officials at a MEDT said they do not yet have information about price hike.

Meanwhile, owners of a number of refueling stations in Dushanbe said that the price hike has resulted from the rise in demand for and prices of oil products in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, which provide the bulk of Tajikistan’s fuel imports, in connection with harvest season.

According to the Ministry of Energy and Industries, Russia now accounts for some 70 percent of Tajikistan’s fuel imports.  Limited liability companies Gazpromneft-Tajikistan, Tojiron and Umed currently account for 80 percent of the overall volumes of fuel deliveries to Tajikistan.