NOV. 25 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia has resumed sending tangerines to Russia after a seven-year gap, news organisations reported quoting Georgian officials. The resumption of fruit exports to Russia is another indication of the normalisation of Georgia- Russia relations after a brief war in 2008.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 162, published on Nov. 27 2013)
AUG. 1 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — In the year to end-July food prices in Armenia increased by around 10%, media quoted official statistics as saying. Food price increases are an important statistic to monitor as fast rises can trigger discontent. Spending on food makes up a large proportion of ordinary people’s income.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 146, published on Aug. 5 2013)
JULY 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Overall consumer prices in Azerbaijan fell 1.1% in June, according to the official statistics agency. Food prices dropped by 2.6%, driving the fall. This is the second consecutive month that the consumer price index in Azerbaijan has fallen. In May prices dropped by 0.4%.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 144, published on July 22 2013)
JULY 10 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Sighting lower-than-expected inflation, the Tajik Central Bank cut its key interest rate to a record low of 6.1%. It had previously cut rates to 6.5% in August 2012. Inflation across Central Asia and the South Caucasus has generally slowed, although the World Bank has said food price rises may reverse this.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 143, published on July 15 2013)
JULY 2 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Recognisable by its unreformed Soviet style packaging and logo, Rakhat chocolate is iconic in Kazakhstan; symbolism even laces the name. In Kazakh, Rakhat means “pleasure”.
Rakhat is a rare example of an established Kazakh retail brand and that makes its sale important.
According to a company announcement on July 2, Lotte Confectionery, a South Korean company, has agreed a deal to buy 76% of Rakhat from four shareholders for about $120m. On the Kazakh stock exchange website these shareholders were listed as Natalya Khilchuk (11% stake), BD Associates ltd (UK, 29% stake), Anatoliy Popelyushko (25.45% stake) and Sweet City LLP (12.2% stake).
The deal values Rakhat, which had sales of nearly $200m in 2012 and employs 4,000 people, at roughly $157m.
Rakhat is one of the most high profile Kazakh retail companies ever sold. This is not an oil and gas company nor a mining company, it is a chocolate maker and its sale highlights Kazakhstan’s growing appeal to consumer brands.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 142, published on July 8 2013)
APRIL 26 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Sturgeon, fish native to the Caspian Sea that produce roe which is better known as caviar, are under threat.
According to Kazakhstan’s deputy Prosecutor-General, Andrei Kravchenko, there will be no sturgeon in the Caspian Sea with four years.
In the last three years, the number of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea has fallen from 3 million to 1.3 million, the Tengrinews website quoted him as saying.
“At a similar rate,” he said. “Sturgeon will be on the brink of extinction in four to five years.”
He blamed energy companies, poachers and official corruption for the drop in numbers.
Caviar is valuable for the Caspian region. Prices in Europe for the delicacy hit thousands of euro for a kilogram.
A few days before Mr Kravchenko’s statement, deputy foreign ministers of the Caspian Sea littoral countries met in Tehran for one of their regular meetings on protecting fish stocks. It’s a talking-shop. The next meeting is scheduled for Baku in September.
Perhaps Mr Kravchenko’s comments were aimed at the deputy foreign ministers.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 133, published on April 29 2013)
APRIL 26 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Poaching will kill off sturgeon in the Caspian Sea within four years, media quoted the Kazakh deputy Prosecutor-General, Andrei Kravchenko, as saying. Sturgeon roe is more commonly known as caviar and is a lucrative commodity.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 133, published on April 29 2013)
APRIL 2 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A demented camel attacked and killed its elderly female owner in western Kazakhstan, local media reported. The story highlights the continued widespread tradition in Kazakhstan of rearing camels. Camel meat is often eaten and the milk is fermented into an alcoholic drink called shubat.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 130, published on April 5 2013)
FEB. 4 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – A shopping centre, a food production plant and a chain of car repair garages will be the first state-owned enterprises sold on March 9 during Turkmenistan’s privatisation process, media quoted officials as saying. More items are due to be privatised although it is unclear if this will include oil and gas assets.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 123, published on Feb. 8 2013)
JAN. 21 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Villages in southern Kyrgyzstan are experiencing food shortages after Uzbekistan shut checkpoints running through its enclave of Sokh following rioting on Jan. 5/6, media reported. The checkpoints guard the only road linking villages in Kyrgyzstan’s impoverished Batken province to the rest of the country.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 121, published on Jan. 25 2013)