December 2024: Palaw Preparation Costs Increased by 2.9%.
In December 2024, the average cost of preparing palaw in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, rose to 61.7 Turkmen manat, reflecting a 2.9% increase from 60.0 manat in December 2023. Over the course of 2024, the Palaw Index showed a 12.6% decrease compared to the 2023 average. The average cost of palaw in 2024 was 62.5 manat, a drop from 71.5 manat in 2023. Meanwhile, the FAO’s Food Price Index for 2024 registered a 2.1% decline compared to the average for 2023.
Annual Price Changes of Key Ingredients in Ashgabat
In 2024, the prices of most palaw ingredients generally decreased. While carrot prices increased, other ingredients saw a price drop. Onions experienced the largest price reduction, dropping by 56.5% compared to 2023. This was mainly due to a significant price hike in early 2023, when a cold spell damaged onion crops and caused prices to triple during the winter. The average price of onions in 2023 was 6.8 manat per kg, a stark contrast to the 3 manat per kg average in 2024.
Other significant price decreases included rice, which dropped by 28.1% in 2024 compared to 2023, sunflower oil, which fell by 18.9%, wheat flour, which reduced by 10.2%, and beef, which saw a minor decrease of 0.9% in 2024.
FAO Price Index: Global Trends by Product Category
- The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index rose by 9.4% in 2024 driven by tightening global supplies.
- For 2024, the FAO Cereal Price Index decreased by 13.3% compared to 2023, largely due to lower wheat and coarse grain prices.
- The FAO All Rice Price Index saw a slight increase of 0.8% in 2024.
- Finally, the FAO Meat Price Index rose by 2.7% from 2023, fueled by strong import demand from key meat-importing countries, despite slower global production growth.
Methodology
Prices of ingredients in the Palaw Index are collected for 1 kg of onion, carrot, beef, rice, and flour, and 1 liter of cooking oil. Based on the methodology, in order to cook palaw for a family of four, we use 0.3 liters of cooking oil, 0.5 kg of onion, 1 kg of carrots, 0.6 kg of beef, 1 kg of rice, and 0.5 kg of flour in our formula. Please click here to learn more about the methodology of the Palaw Index.
