Value Chains research report Tajikistan final - Microfinance Centre

2. Representatives of Tajikmatlubot procurement organization, who own markets in
various towns and districts and have the goal of providing people access to food
products;
3. Wholesalers, who buy onions for storing or selling in small batches;
4. Exporters, who buy onions for shipping to export markets.
There is also an alternative distribution channel for onions – farmers take small batches
of onions (several tons at a time) directly to the market and sell directly to end
consumers, receiving a more favorable margin.
Exporters are those entrepreneurs who have established contacts in the export
markets. The number of exporters is stable; some growth is fueled by exhibitions and
intergovernmental agreements resulting in increased export of onions to certain
geographical regions. Exporters maintain high sales volumes. Originally they bought the
product from wholesalers; now they contact the farmers and sign the deals directly.
They offer farmers a premium price for better onions, which makes them the preferred
customers for the farmers. They collect onions from the fields and deliver to the
consumers in the destination country.
Procurement organizations are mostly represented by storage operators. The main
owner of such organizations is Tajikmatlubot (Consumer Union), which has branches in
all districts of the country. In addition to this organization, recently entrepreneurs
specializing in procurement and sale of onions have started coming to the market. Often
these companies and entrepreneurs also play the role of exporters.
Wholesalers. These sell onions to the market in small batches, or store them for a long
time, to sell off-season. These wholesalers also play an important role of “shuttle”
entrepreneurs. They purchase onions in the areas where they are grown, and sell it to
the areas where consumption prevails, including towns and markets near administrative
centers. These are the people who deliver the product across the mountain passes or
over the railroad when roads are closed. They use trucks providing freight forwarding
services.
Retailers – these are people who actually sell the onions using their own stalls in the
market. Their numbers are relatively stable.
Opportunities for financing value chain for onions.
Profitability and productivity of labor needs to be improved at each stage. This requires
financing, in addition to knowledge.
Financing the production of onions
• Financing working capital for suppliers of chemicals and fertilizers, in order to
facilitate farmers’ access to high-quality fertilizers and chemicals. To optimize
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