Turkey plans to double trade with Turkmenistan to USD5 bln per year

Trade between Turkey and Turkmenistan totaled $2.166 billion in 2024 and could more than double to $5 billion per year before long, Turkmenistan's State Television and Radio Broadcasting quoted the Turkish ambassador to Turkmenistan, Ahmet Demirok, as per Interfax.

Demirok did not say when this might be achieved. "Trade between the two countries amounted to $2.166 billion in 2024. We are confident this figure will reach $5 billion in the near future," he said.

Trade last year fell 16.7% from $2.6 billion in 2023. Even so, Turkey and Turkmenistan are actively developing cooperation in such areas as energy, economics, trade, transport, culture and education, Demirok said.

He said Turkey was one of the biggest investors in Turkmenistan. "Turkish companies have carried out more than 1,000 projects in the country worth more than $50 billion," he said.

Turkmenistan and Turkey signed a memorandum on gas cooperation in March 2024. Later, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Turkey expected to buy up to 2 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan through swap supplies via Iran. Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov said Turkmenistan was keen to supply more gas and electricity to Economic Cooperation Organization countries including Turkey.

mrchub.com

Vietnam's TH Group plans to launch its livestock complex which is being built in Primorye Territory in 2029, the press service of Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev said, as per Interfax.

The progress of the investment project was discussed at a meeting held by Trutnev on Thursday. "Currently, the complex's design is underway. The resident has planted 400 hectares and put 1,500 hectares into operation. The resident plans to bring approximately 6,000 hectares into operation by 2028," he said.

It was previously reported that the commissioning of the facility was scheduled for 2027. The project is being implemented by TH Rus Primorsky LLC, a resident of the Mikhailovsky advanced development territory.

It was also reported that, under an agreement with the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation (FEDC), the investor will provide over 20 billion rubles for creating a livestock complex with a total herd of 10,000 cows and a dairy plant with a processing capacity of 60,000 tonnes of milk per year.

TH Rus Primorsky also plans to grow feed for cattle, as well as leguminous crops for sale on the domestic market and for export to countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

TH Rus Primorsky LLC was registered in 2017 in the village of Varfolomeyevka, Primorye Territory. The founder is TH Rus Milk Food (Volokolamsk).

TH Group was founded in 2009 and is one of Vietnam's leading producers of dairy products. The company is also implementing dairy projects in Russia's Kaluga and Moscow regions.

mrchub.com

The Central Bank of Russia has raised its forecast for Russian GDP growth in 2025 to 1.0-2.0% from the 0.5-1.5% it was predicting in October, the regulator said in its medium-term forecast, published following the decision to hold the key rate at 21%, as per Interfax.

The forecast for year-on-year GDP growth in Q4 2025 was lowered to 0.0-1.0% in from 0.5-1.5%. The Central Bank lowered its forecast for GDP growth in 2026 to 0.5-1.5% from 1.0-2.0%.

It left its growth forecast for 2027 unchanged at 1.5-2.5%. The upward deviation of the Russian economy from a balanced growth path is still significant, the Central Bank reiterated.

The Central Bank of Russia has raised the inflation forecast to 7%-8% in 2025 from 4.5%-5% previously, the CBR said. The CBR still expects that annual inflation to return to 4% in 2026 and remain on target thereafter, given the current monetary policy stance.

The CBR said that seasonally adjusted current price growth averaged 12.1% on an annualized basis in the fourth quarter of 2024 after 11.3% in the previous quarter. The same measure of core inflation also increased to an average of 12.1% after 7.6% in the previous quarter.

Persistent inflationary pressure has increased, reflecting strong domestic demand in the second half of 2024, the CBR said. The weakening of the ruble in the fall also contributes to price dynamics. Weekly data in January and early February indicate that the current pace of price growth has slowed slightly compared to December, though remains high. Annual inflation was 10%, as estimated on February 10.

The population's inflation expectations remain close to the high levels of late 2024, the CBR said. The expectations of professional analysts have grown for 2025 and remain above 4% in 2026. Meantime, the price expectations of enterprises have declined for the first time since the first quarter of 2024, though remain at an elevated level.

The CBR's baseline scenario envisages inflationary pressures to begin easing gradually in the coming months on the back of cooling lending and high savings activity.

mrchub.com

Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry and JV Tengizchevroil LLP (TCO) have signed an agreement extending the annual memorandum of understanding to ensure stable supplies of liquefied petroleum gas to the country's domestic market, the ministry's press service said in a Friday press release, as per Interfax.

"The document was signed following negotiations between the ministry and the company. According to the agreement, TCO will supply 240,000 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas to the country's domestic market in 2025," the press release says.

"This agreement is an important step towards meeting domestic demand for liquefied petroleum gas," Deputy Minister of Energy Alibek Zhamauov is quoted as saying. "Guaranteed LPG supplies from TCO as a producer of liquefied petroleum gas in Kazakhstan will reduce the gas market deficit and create favorable conditions for consumers of this product," Zhamauov said.

TCO General Director Kevin Lyon said that TCO remained one of the key suppliers of commercial gas to the domestic market. Tengizchevroil is the operator of the Tengiz oil field, one of Kazakhstan's biggest, with reserves of 3.1 billion tonnes of oil.

The joint venture is currently owned by American ChevronTexaco Overseas (50%), ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc. (25%), Kazakhstan through the national company KazMunayGas (20%) and Russia's Lukoil.

mrchub.com

The Indian government has allocated funds for nutrient-based subsidy rates for the 2025–26 fertilizer year, reducing overall fertilizer subsidies by 2% to 1.68 trillion Indian rupees ($19.2 billion) from 1.71 trillion rupees in the revised 2024–25 budget, according to an official document, as per Chemweek.

Due to the extended additional grant on diammonium phosphate (DAP,) there has been only a slight decrease of $5 in the first-quarter phosphoric acid contract prices, which currently stand at $1,055 per metric ton CFR India, an India-based trader said to S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Had subsidies been increased for 2025–26, global prices of fertilizers such as DAP, phosphoric acid and sulfur might not have declined, as the market often expects the Indian government to step in with additional support when needed, several sources noted.

“The budget allocation for urea met expectations, but a strong allocation for indigenous and imported phosphorus and potassium (P&K) fertilizers was expected,” said Saurabh Patil, research analyst at Commodity Insights.

The government always strives to lower its fiscal deficit and improve its fiscal prudence, Patil said. Therefore, at the start of every year, the budget estimate is set on the conservative side, and supplementary grants are then provided if required, generally around December, to meet the country's fertilizer requirements.

Allocation for P&K fertilizer funding in 2025–26 was reduced to 490 billion rupees from 523.1 billion rupees in the revised 2024–25 budget.

Further details will become clearer once the government announces specific nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) rates for the Kharif season. For P&K fertilizers, individual subsidies are expected to rise, as Indian buyers have faced significant losses on DAP, along with similar challenges for domestic producers, an India-based producer noted.

The allocation for urea fertilizer was left virtually unchanged at 1.19 trillion rupees, according to the union budget.

mrchub.com