Correspondents of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” have previously reported that Ashgabat is experiencing a shortage of meat and according to media outlets, a week ago President Gurbanguly Berdymukahmmedov reprimanded Minister of Agriculture and Environment Protection Magtumguly Bairamdurdyev for poor performance in forage conservation.
According to sources of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan”, the Ashgabat authorities have currently obliged executives of organizations and companies of all forms of ownership to purchase meat from private farmers at a market price and hand it over to state-run stores to be resold at much lower, state-established prices.
The market price for a kilo of lamb or beef currently fluctuates between 50 and 60 manats whereas a kilo of meat in state-run stores costs 24 manats.
On a monthly basis, according to new requirements, organizations are obliged to hand over 1 to 1,5 tons of meat, depending on the budget.
In order to compensate for losses, at least partially, executives of state (not public sector!) organizations retain a part of employees’ salaries. The owners of private organizations are trying to reduce the costs by using lower quality cheap materials and to cut other expenditures.
In the meantime, meat is sold with a restriction of 2 kilos per person at state-run stores.