July 2025: Palaw Preparation Costs Climb by 19.2%.
In July 2025, the average cost to prepare palaw in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan reached 72.9 Turkmen manat – a 19.2% increase from 61.1 manat in July 2024. Compared to last month (June 2025), when the cost was 70.7 manat, this represents a 3.1% month-on-month rise. Globally, food prices also increased, with the FAO’s Food Price Index showing a 7.6% rise year-on-year.
Annual Price Changes for Core Ingredients in Ashgabat
In July 2025, the prices of major ingredients used in palaw in Ashgabat experienced sharp shifts. Rice recorded the steepest decline, falling 19.0% compared to the previous year, followed by carrots with a 17.6% drop. Conversely, several ingredients became more expensive – onion prices skyrocketed by 202.5%, beef rose by 37.1%, wheat flour increased by 21.6%, and sunflower oil edged up by 3.1% (see Figure 1).
FAO Price Index: Global Trends by Product Category
- According to the FAO, the Vegetable Oil Price Index in July 2025 rose 23.6% compared to the same period last year, reaching a three-year high. Sunflower oil prices rose due to seasonally tightening supplies in the Black Sea region
- Meanwhile, the FAO Cereal Price Index – which includes wheat and other staple grains – dropped 3.8% year-on-year.
- The FAO All Rice Price Index fell by 1.8% in July 2025, as ample exportable supplies and lacklustre import demand continued to weigh on prices.
- The FAO Meat Price Index posted a 6.0% year-on-year increase. Global bovine meat prices reached a new record high, supported by higher quotations in Australia, underpinned by strong import demand, particularly from China and the United States of America, which outpaced available export supplies.
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.
