Dwindling remittances from Russia to Tajikistan are being squeezed yet again by government measures preventing migrant laborers from wiring Russian rubles.
New rules that came into effect on February 2 obliged people in Tajikistan receiving transfers made in rubles to collect the funds exclusively in the domestic currency, the somoni.
That appears on first analysis to have been motivated by a desperate urgency at the national bank to build up its foreign cash reserves and keep the somoni on an even keel.
At least two major wire companies popular with migrant laborers in Russia have in turn reacted by stopping the transfer of rubles to Tajikistan, and accepting only other currencies, such as dollar or euros. An employee at one of the wire companies, Zolotaya Korona, said the ruble ban had come into effect on February 4.
In effect, this arrangement will require Tajik workers in Russia to first convert their increasingly devalued ruble salaries into a foreign currency, thereby incurring a commission, and then sending that cash home, also against payment. Although people collecting the cash in Tajikistan can still draw the funds in whatever currency they were wired (as long as it is not rubles), there are concerns the government could soon extend the restrictions to dollars and euros.
The fall in the value of the ruble against the dollar has been slower than that of the somoni since the start of the year, so the value of the remittances is being pinched. The ruble has lost 5 percent against the dollar over that period, while the somoni has fallen by around 13 percent.
The picture is grim as it is.
Remittances for the January-September period in 2015 dropped about 65 percent to $1.054 billion, compared to $3.016 billion over the same period the previous year.
Defending its policy, the National Bank of Tajikistan issued a press release reassuring the public that its various machinations will not cause any detriment to people’s wellbeing.
“The rate at the currency exchange is set everyday by the National Bank of Tajikistan and the market rate to buy Russian rubles is far higher that the official rate,” the bank said.
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