December 2025: Palaw Preparation Costs Increased by 36%.
In December 2025, the average cost of preparing palaw in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, reached 83.9 Turkmen manat, marking a 36% increase from 61.7 manat in December 2024. This rise was driven mainly by higher meat prices.Over the course of 2025, the Palaw Index (PI) increased by an average of 16.3% compared with 2024. Meanwhile, the FAO’s Food Price Index recorded a 4.3% year-on-year increase in 2025 relative to average 2024 prices.
Annual Price Changes for Palaw Ingredients in Ashgabat
Throughout 2025, prices of key palaw ingredients showed mixed trends:
- Price declines: Rice prices fell by 19.3%, carrots by 8.6%, and sunflower oil by 1.9%.
- Price increases: Onion prices rose sharply by 79.3%, the largest annual increase among ingredients. Beef prices climbed by 35.7%, while wheat flour prices increased by 15.1%.
Rising Meat Prices and Purchasing Power
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SUPPORT OUR WORKBeef prices climbed sharply since June 2025 due to livestock losses linked to drought, malnutrition, and disease. By December, meat prices reached 95 manat per kilogram, up from 60.8 manat a year earlier. Meanwhile, the minimum wage increased by 10% to 1,410 manat in 2025, lagging behind the 16.3% rise in the Palaw Index, indicating declining purchasing power.
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.
