“Chronicles of Turkmenistan” continues to monitor price fluctuations at Ashgabat grocery markets.
Below is the price review covering the period from November 2017 to January 2018.
It should be emphasized that the quoted prices were recorded in late January before the February price hike for petrol and flour.
These changes will be included in the next review.
Vegetables saw a considerable price increase.One of the reasons is the change of seasons coupled with soaring dollar exchange rate.The majority of vegetables are imported from Iran, Turkey and Kazakhstan, which affects the price increase since entrepreneurs buy vegetables for dollars.
Potatoes and onions cost 3-4 manats per kilo. Locally produced potatoes are occasionally available on the counters of Ashgabat markets, which are sold at 2,8-3,2 manats, but customers note that the quality is worse than that of imported potatoes.
Tomatoes cost 6,5 manats per kilo whereas cucumbers are sold at 7 manats. In November 2017 tomatoes could be bought at 8,4 manats (a decrease of 22.62%), cucumbers — at 4,60 manats (an increase of 52.17%)
A few months ago eggplants cost 3,5 manats whereas they are now sold at 10 manats (an increase of 186%). The price for bell pepper went up from 3,5 to 5 manats (+42.86%).
Prices for fruits are slightly going down with an average price decrease of 7%.Local apples can be purchased at the market at 8 manats and Iranian apples now cost 15 manats (-2.47%).
The price for bananas went up from 11 to 16,5 manats (+50%).The prices for tangerines went down from 18 to 7,7 manats (-57.22%) and for oranges from 19 to 7,7 manats (-59.47%).
Over the past three months prices for canned goods have seen a growth of 7%.The price for RITA brand canned pineapples went up from 10,40 to 13,80 manats (+32.69%).
The price for RITA brand canned peas decreased from 8,4 to 6,5 manats (-22.62%) and RITA corn went down from 8,4 to 7,2 manats (-14.29%).
The price for “Makareno” black olives saw an increase from 10,4 to 10,7 manats per can (+2.88%).
Over the past three months there has been a price increase of 7,8% for cheese. The price for Russian cheese went up from 62,8 to 72,5 manats per kilo (+15.45%) whereas the price for “Gouda” decreased from 48 to 45 manats (-6.25%). “Edamer” costs 48 manats (0%).
The price for Russian-made vegetable oil (“Oleina”) soared from 12,1 to 12,5 manats (+3.31%) per liter.Since “Oleina” is an expensive brand, entrepreneurs are now importing vegetable oil produced by other manufacturers which is cheaper but worse in quality.
For instance, vegetable oil “Cinderella” cost 9,8-10 manats in November 2017 but now it is sold at 11,2 manats (+10%) and its price is still going up.
Sugar, as before, costs 5 manats per kilo.
The price for Russian-produced flour went down by 17% — from 4,8 to 4 manats per kilo.
The price for MacCoffee went up from 1,2 to 1,4 manats per sachet. It should be noted that in late November it was sold at 1 manat and at the end of 2015 0,5 manats.
1 liter of Coca-Cola costs 5 manats whereas in early January it could be purchased at 3,5 manats (+42.86%).The prices for Fanta and Sprite went up from 3,5 to 4 manats (+14.29%).
At the beginning of last year 1 liter bottles of Fanta, Cola and Sprite cost 2,4 manats (an increase of +108.33%).
There has been a price hike for all merchandise in Turkmenistan, including medications, construction materials, mobile phones, household cleaning products and so on. Many stores and pharmacies do not put price tags and inform customer of the price at the check-out based on the “black market” dollar exchange rate.
The price hike for various imported household appliances which depend of the dollar exchange rate is especially noticeable.For instance, two models of TP-Link wifi routers are very popular in Turkmenistan.
Over the past eight months the price for a low-cost model skyrocketed by 78% — an increase from 180 to 320 manats whereas the price for another model soared by 82% — from 220 to 400 manats.
It should be mentioned that many manufacturers of Turkmen merchandise use various tricks to keep the prices as low as possible: some reduce the volume of merchandise they produce or its size (for instance, milk is produced in a 900-ml bottle instead of a1liter bottle), downsize staff, change production method or use cheaper ingredients.