Translation of AbdulGamid’s post of 19.01.07 from Russian

Everything is relative. If we used to say that “life is not all honey”, now we’re going to say that “life is not all petrol”, meaning the cheapest petrol in the world - 400 manats (0.02 USD) per litre.

Petrol prices are going to rise six (!) times in the near future and reach 2 500 - 2 700 manats (0.135 USD). Every car owner is to be granted coupons which will allow them to buy 120 litres of petrol a month at a reduced (state) price of 400 manats per litre, the rest will be available at a commercial price.

All state institutions will pay the reduced price as well. State-owned taxis are going to return to the streets of Turkmen cities, long forgotten now that every car owner runs a private business.

Private transportation services are the only source of income for many people. The streets of Ashgabat are full of cars with registration plates of Lebap, Mary and Balkan regions whose owners come to the capital to earn 200-250 USD per month.

Private taxi drivers will not be able to compete with the state-owned taxis running on petrol bought at the reduced price. Thousands of people will loose their only source of income, especially the people from the countryside who have to work as taxi drivers in Ashgabat, because they are unable to make even 200 dollars a month in their home towns and villages.

The rising petrol prices will increase the expenses of all commercial non-state organizations and companies. That means that prices of all goods and services that they offer will also go up. Will it be possible for them to be competitive in such circumstances with the state-protected producers? That’s doubtful.

State-owned shops, taxis and companies will develop and thrive. But what about the private business? The existence of “reduced” and “commercial” petrol prices will ruin hundreds of private firms and companies.

It seems that Turkmenistan is going through a planned process of “nationalization” of all areas of economy, business and production, which shows that it will take quite some time before Turkmenistan becomes a truly free market economy.