DUSHANBE, January 17, 2012, Asia-Plus -- Nemat Rahmatov, the first deputy head of the Customs Service under the Government of Tajikistan, told a news conference in Dushanbe on January 16 that the Customs Service transferred 2.3082 billion somoni into the national budget in 2011, which is 108.2 million somoni more than it was originally planned.

The country’s external trade turnover last year amounted to 4.4585 billion U.S. dollars, which was 116 percent of the 2011 level or 608.2 million U.S. dollars more, Rahmatov said.

According to him, primary aluminum accounted for some 53 percent (US$665 million) of the overall volume of the country’s exports last year, the share of cotton fiber in the country’s exports was 15.7 percent (US$197.7 million) and fruits and vegetables accounted for 3.7 percent (US$46.8 million) of the country’s exports.