Tajik State Antimonopoly Service warns: in accordance with the Law of Tajikistan “On competition and limitation of monopolistic activity at commodity markets” all owners of gas stations will be called to administrative responsibility for unreasonable raise in fuel prices before June 15. Fuel prices will be raised in several phases after June 15, Head of the Department of Information, Recordation and International Relations Elena Rahimova told the AP.

According to Russian media sources, starting from May 1 this year Russia has introduced export duties for gasoline and diesel fuel exported to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan which equal $203,7 per one ton. According to Rahimova, there was no export duty for Tajikistan before May 1.

Meanwhile, according to businessman Fathiddin Himatov, who supplies fuel from Russia to Tajikistan, there is a secret governmental ban on import of fuel, including gasoline, from other countries except Russia.

“If the government of Tajikistan allows Tajik businessmen to import fuel from other CIS countries, fuel prices will not be so high,” he said.

He believes that Russian companies have monopolized the Tajik fuel market and local businessmen are deprived of the opportunity to import fuel from other countries. “Earlier a group of Tajik businessmen have imported fuel from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan and its quality was as good as Russian fuel,” he stressed.