DUSHANBE, December 12, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- Compared to 2011 Tajikistan’s sugar imports have increased by 18,000 tons, according to the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT).

An official source at a MEDT says 110,500 tons of sugar, worth 63.6 million U.S. dollars, have been delivered to Tajikistan this year.

As far as the wholesale price for one ton of sugar is concerned, it has fallen by 89 U.S. dollars.  An average price for shipping sugar to the border of Tajikistan is US$576.00 per ton, the source noted.

According to data of the MEDT, Belarus and Russia provide the bulk of Tajikistan’s sugar imports – Belarus accounts for 23.1 percent of Tajikistan’s sugar imports and Russia accounts for 7.3 percent.

This year Tajikistan has also imported sugar from Azerbaijan.  Azerbaijan accounted for 2.1 percent of Tajikistan’s sugar imports this year.

Meanwhile, the retail price of sugar has reportedly fallen 16 percent in a year to December 1, 2012; current price for one kilogram of sugar at Dushanbe’s bazaars is 5.00 somoni (equivalent to nearly 1.00 U.S. dollars).