November 2024: Palaw Preparation Costs Drop by 6.1%.
In November 2024, the average cost of preparing palaw in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, decreased to 64.5 Turkmen manat, marking a 6.1% drop from 68.7 manat in November 2023. This also represents a 3.1% decline from October 2024, when the cost was 66.5 manat. Meanwhile, global food prices rose by 5.7% during the same month, according to the FAO’s Food Price Index.
Annual Price Changes of Key Ingredients in Ashgabat
Compared to November 2023, the prices of certain ingredients in Ashgabat shifted significantly. Rice experienced the largest drop, falling 40.7% year-on-year, while carrots saw the steepest increase, surging by 38.2%. Other notable changes included an 8.1% rise in beef prices and a 1.5% increase in onion prices. In contrast, wheat flour and sunflower oil prices dropped by 2.2% and 2.7%, respectively (refer to Figure 1).
FAO Price Index: Global Trends by Product Category
- The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index rose sharply by 32.2% year-on-year, reaching its highest level since July 2022. The increase was driven by higher prices for palm, soy, sunflower, and rapeseed oils, with constrained supply prospects for sunflower and rapeseed oils due to lower expected production in 2024/25.
- The FAO Cereal Price Index, which includes wheat and other grains, fell by 8.0% year-on-year in November 2024.
- The FAO All Rice Price Index declined by 4.0% in November, reflecting lower prices across major market segments caused by increased market competition, harvest pressures, and currency devaluations against the US dollar.
- Lastly, the FAO Meat Price Index showed a modest increase of 5.9% year-on-year.
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.
