DUSHANBE, November 23, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- Labor migrants remain a critical component in the economy of Tajikistan.  Remittances keep many families in Tajikistan above the poverty line.

Some 2 .99 billion U.S. dollars have reportedly been remitted to banks in Tajikistan over the first ten months of this year.

A monthly report for November 2012, Monitoring or Early Warning in Tajikistan , says that unofficially reported remittances in October totaled 380.4 million U.S. dollars, which is 12% higher than for the same period in 2011.

165 million USD were remitted to banks in Tajikistan in January and the same amount was remitted in February.  In March 201 million USD were remitted, April – 241 million USD, May – 275 million USD, June – 320 million USD.  In July, 385 million U.S. dollars were remitted to Tajikistan and the highest remittances over the same ten-month period were reported in August – 436 million U.S. dollars.  In September, more than 421 million USD were remitted to banks in Tajikistan.  

Remittances are running at a higher rate than previous years 10 years, consistent with an increase in out migration, the report said.

Tajik migration service agency reports a total 765,005 left Tajikistan over the same ten-month period and 484,915 persons returned.  Tajik seasonal wormers travel primarily to Russia but also to neighboring Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

Meanwhile Russia’s central bank reports that last year remittances from Russia to banks in Tajikistan exceeded 3 billion USD.