TURKMENBASHI, Turkmenistan -- Locals in Turkmenistan’s western Balkan region on the Caspian Sea are used to a temporary “abundance of food” during the summer vacation season, which usually lasts from June to late September.
It’s the time when the state orders its workers and other officials from around the country to spend their vacation in the Awaza (aka Avaza) resort, a pet project of Turkmenistan’s authoritarian government.
During the summer season, state stores in the resort regions get plenty of subsidized food that caters both to holidaymakers and the locals in the backdrop of a longstanding food crisis in the isolated Central Asian nation. It also forces private food stores and bazaars to drop their prices.
But the cheap food all but disappears as soon as the vacation season ends, residents in the regional capital, Turkmenbashi, told RFE/RL.
Staples like rice, cooking oil, meat, eggs, potatoes, and onions are now seldom found in government stores, they complain.
“The choice of foodstuffs in state stores has noticeably decreased. Most shops are only offering candy and cookies, but people rarely buy them,” RFE/RL correspondents reported from Balkan.
The low supply of food in the state stores leads private merchants to raise prices within days of the vacationers leaving town.
In late September, a box of 30 eggs cost about $13 in privately owned supermarkets, but the price has risen to nearly $16 in just a few days, Turkmenbashi residents said.
Less than two decades ago, Awaza was a tiny dacha retreat along the Caspian Sea, but it was subsequently converted into a luxurious resort town as the centerpiece of then-President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov's dreams of building world-class tourism infrastructure in Turkmenistan. (file photo)
They reported similar hikes in the prices of cooking oil, flour, rice, potatoes, onions, and carrots.
Government officials didn’t respond to RFE/RL’s request for comment.
'No Supplies Left'
But a specialist working for the Turkmenbashi city government said the reason behind the return of food shortages is that the region simply disappears from the central government’s radar as soon as the holiday season is over.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, the official told RFE/RL that the warehouses are entirely empty.
“There are no supplies left in the Bereket grain product facility. We were expecting the delivery of 300 tons of flour…this week but that was postponed until next week,” the official said without giving the reason for the delay.
“We are also expecting the delivery of cooking oil from Lebap Province and other foodstuffs from the Mary and Ahal regions. We will distribute them to government stores once they arrive,” he added. Though he admitted he doesn’t know when the food will be in Balkan stores.
State grocery stores across Turkmenistan sell discounted staples, a lifeline for many Turkmen as the nation grapples with deepening food shortages, grinding poverty, skyrocketing unemployment, and a general economic decline for at least the past six years.
The amount and selection of subsidized food has been in a steady decline in Turkmenistan in recent years, leading to notorious lines with people waiting for flour and meat for several hours.
In some areas, government stores are delivering goods to the homes of eligible customers to prevent people from forming long lines for food at the stores.
Most visitors -- including high-ranking government officials -- began arriving in the otherwise empty hotels of Awaza in June, according to locals.
Turkmenistan marks important holidays with lavish parades, concerts, food exhibitions, and other events.
The last time Balkan residents enjoyed plentiful amounts of affordable food in the region were the days leading to the Independence Day celebrations on September 27, when authorities launched food fares with discounted price tags at the city’s Kenar bazaar. Turkmenistan traditionally marks important holidays with lavish parades, concerts, food exhibits, and other celebratory events.
But all of those events vanished as soon as the last tourists left and the celebrations ended, leaving locals hungrily waiting for the 2024 summer vacation season.