Highlights:
• During the current reporting period, the food commodities were found to be sufficiently available.
• Compared to the previous week, the average prices of most monitored food commodities remained stable in the majority of markets in the current reporting period except for cabbage which increasd by 5 percent overall. At the regional level, prices of some commodities increased in a few markets. Onion price increased in Kulob and Murghob markets by 4-13 percent and chickpeas increased by 6-13 percent in Isfara and Istaravshan markets. These price changes have been attributed to temporary fluctuations in supply and demand conditions in the regional markets.
• Compared to average prices of last month, prices of most food commodities remained stable. Onion prices increased overall by 9 percent. The real onion prices however are still in par with the average prices over the past 12 months. Carrot price continues to slide downwards. The price this week is down by 16 percent compared to last month. Wheat flour price on average increased by 5% compared to last month. The price of wheat flour has been steadily increasing since August. The key informants attributed rising prices to expected lower levels of wheat production this year compared to last year.
• The overall average prices of petrol and diesel have remained the same as last few weeks.
• The price of food basket* is highest in Murghob markets(see map). Due to its remoteness which results in higher transport cost, prices of most monitored food commodities are higher in Murghob than other regional markets except for meat.
Source: World Food Programme