JULY 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Remittances to Uzbekistan from workers in Russia decreased by nearly 10% in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2013, media reported quoting the Central Bank. This is roughly similar to figures reported by other countries in the former Soviet Union and reflect Russia’s weakened economic state.
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(News report from Issue No. 192, published on July 9 2014)
JULY 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Highlighting Kazakhstan’s regional economic pull, the authorities have decided to set up a centre to deal with the problems of Tajik migrant workers, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. After Russia, Kazakhstan is the most popular destination for Tajik migrant workers.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on July 2 2014)
JUNE 23 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia has tightened entry rules for Tajik migrants, media reported, threatening a major source of Tajikistan’s income. Tajik citizens will now only be allowed to enter Russia on their official passport and not ID cards. Remittances from Russia make up 50% of Tajikistan’s GDP.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The number of migrants entering Russia for work has fallen by 20% this year because of strict new rules, Konstantin Romodanovsky, head of the Russian Federal Migration Service, said. This is important to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan whose economies rely most heavily on remittances from Russia.
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(News report from Issue No. 189, published on June 18 2014)
MAY 28 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s Central Bank dropped growth rate predictions for 2014 by around a fifth mainly because of a slowdown in Russia’s economy.
All the Central Asian and South Caucasus countries are vulnerable to a slowdown in Russia’s economy but Armenia has perhaps been the first to warn publicly of the impact.
It said economic growth this year would now be between 4.1% and 4.8%, down from an earlier prediction of between 5.4% and 6.1%. Russia is by far Armenia’s biggest trading partner and Yerevan has been looking to join the Russia- led Customs Union to cement this relationship.
But sanctions imposed by the EU and US because of Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine earlier this year have impacted its economic growth and the domino effect means that this has weighed on economies across the former Soviet Union.
Russia owns much of Armenia’s businesses, supplies its gas and is a magnet for seasonal labourers from Armenia who generate an important remittance flow.
Armenia’s Central Bank also said a delayed copper mine and a weak tax regime also hindered economic growth rates.
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(News report from Issue No. 186, published on May 28 2014)
ARSLANBOB/Kyrgyzstan, MAY 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — In rural Kyrgyzstan, walnuts are important. Ilhon sighed as he leaned in and explained the significance of the walnut to the local economy of this small village in the Jalalabad region, south Kyrgyzstan.Surrounding the village is a 60,000 hectare walnut forest, providing a crop of about 1,000 tonnes each year.
In a country as poor as Kyrgyzstan, walnut crops can make up around a third of the average annual salary. The walnut season also provides a trickle-down effect on employment.
As well as the farmers, who lease the state-owned land to collect the walnut, other people are employed to shell walnuts and drivers to transport it to local markets. Most of the walnuts are then sent to Turkey, Iran and Iraq.
Still, it is just seasonal labour and when the season finishes its time to find fresh work.
Just like most of Kyrgyzstan, Ilhon and his brother look to Russia for help.
They head north to find casual labour, sending home most of what they earn. It’s tough and the pay isn’t great, but at least is does pay.
“Life is more difficult in winter,” Ilhon said of the drop in employment once the walnut season ends. “There is very little work around Arslanbob. Many of the men here go to Russia.”
There is another problem for Ilhon and others living and working in the walnut forests of south Kyrgyzstan. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union the forests have been increasingly poorly managed. These forests are the largest walnut forests in the world but they are also under threat.”
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(News report from Issue No. 183, published on May 7 2014)
APRIL 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia signed a deal with Russia that will ease Armenian migrant workers’ permits in Russian cities, media reported. The deal is another sign of the economic benefits that Armenia is in line to receive after agreeing to join the Russia-led Customs Union. Remittances from Russia are an important part of Armenia’s economy.
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(News report from Issue No. 180, published on April 16 2014)
APRIL 4 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Remittances from Russia to Tajikistan rose to $4.15b in 2013, a jump of 14%, media reported quoting the Central Bank. Remittances, especially from Russia, are vital for the Tajik economy.
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(News report from Issue No. 179, published on April 9 2014)
MARCH 31 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Remittances from Ukraine and Russia to Georgia fell during the first two months of the year, media reported, quoting Central Bank statistics. Cash from Russia is still the largest proportion of remittances to Georgia, nearly half, but the statistics said it was down by around 6% from a year earlier.
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(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)
APRIL 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s Central Bank ordered commercial banks to stop taking wire transfers from Russia’s Zolotaya Korona, threatening the country’s remittances lifeline.
Remittances are crucial to Uzbekistan. According to the World Bank, remittances from Russia account for roughly 16% of Uzbekistan’s GDP.
This figure, although, large still underplays the importance of remittances to the Uzbek economy.
They are an essential lifeblood to the much of the population, feeding entire families and beating away poverty.
It makes the unexplained announcement by the Uzbek Central Bank all the more puzzling. Zolotaya Korona, which means Golden Crown, is the most popular system for Uzbeks working in Russia to wire cash home.
Forcing users onto another system, creates an additional barrier.
A couple of days after issuing the ban, the Uzbek Central Bank said it banned Zolotaya Korona because it thought that it was in poor financial health.
Officials at Zolotaya Korona, which is based in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, have declined to comment on the Uzbek Central Bank’s decision.
In January, around a dozen Azerbaijani banks cut their links to Zolotaya Korona. They said that deals with the Russian company just weren’t profitable enough.
In 2012, Armenia’s Central Bank banned Zolotaya Korona from operating there because it was stopping some people using its services.
Whatever the reason for the Uzbek Central Bank’s sudden ban on Zolotaya Korona, the poor in Uzbekistan will suffer.
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(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)