The most recent monitoring of WFP beneficiaries revealed that on average 58 percent of household budgets were spent on food. Poor households depending on markets are particularly vulnerable to food price increases. Similar to Tajikistan, national prices have increased sharply during July and August this year. In July, the price of wheat flour (the primary staple food in the country) increased by 23 per cent in rural areas and by 27 per cent in urban areas compared to the previous month. Prices continued to increase in August by 10 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively. The increase of export prices in Kazakhstan and the predicted decrease in domestic production by 25 per cent continue to be major concerns for price stability in the near term. The next round of the joint World Bank/WFP initiative to monitor the social impacts of the food price crisis in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is scheduled to take place in October/November.
October 2012