The figures are the Antimonopoly Service’s, published on 4 August via Asia-Plus. Imports rose 7.7% by volume and cost about $171 million; the average price, $259 a tonne, is up $25 on a year earlier. Around 60 companies handle the trade. Flour follows the same road: 35,400 tonnes imported, up 45.2%, with 95% of it Kazakh, while domestic flour output rose 31.6% to 399,400 tonnes.
The concentration is the story. In a month when Dushanbe is pressing Astana for fuel, on its own government’s readout, its bread already runs through the same single neighbour, at a price that moved 10% in a year. Kazakhstan has published no restriction on wheat, and none is claimed here. What the half-year table shows is exposure: one supplier, a shrinking harvest at home, and a bill that rises even in a good market.