KULOB, February 16, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- Six industrial enterprises based in the city of Kulob were not in operation last month, the Kulob economic department chairperson Shahzoda Qayumova said.

Among them are large enterprises such as Kulobtextile (textile factory) and the Kulob shoe factory, she noted.

“The enterprises that operated last year, however, failed to increase production volumes or even to reach the January 2010 production level,” said Qayumova, “The cotton ginnery, Zarkham, reached only 46.5 percent of the January 2010 production level and local dairy factory reached 63.1 percent, while the Kulob brickworks filled only one order for 23,300 somoni last month.”

She named gas shortages and lack of raw materials and orders as the main factors that contributed to the fall in production level.

In the meantime, the last month’s production volumes exceeded the January 2010 volumes by 33,200 somoni.  “This increase has become possible due to good work of the cotton ginning factory, Pakhtai Kulob, and local small private enterprises,” Qayumova said, adding that Kulob produced a total of 10,757,900 somoni worth of industrial goods last month.