DUSHANBE, April 18, Asia-Plus -- Open joint-stock company (OJSC) Shirin, the Dushanbe confectionery factory, is seeking partner to launch a joint venture for overcoming the existing crisis, Davlat Tabarov, chief accountant with the factory, said.  

“We have worked out an investment project to modernize our enterprise in order to raise competitiveness of our goods,” Tabarov said, noting that Shirin now covers only 5%-10% of Tajikistan’s market.  

According to him, launch of the joint venture or attraction of investments will allow them improving quality of goods and increasing the volume of production.

Tabarov said that a total project cost is $1.22 million.  “We intend to purchase the state-of-the-art equipment and begin to manufacture new types of confectionery goods,” the chief accountant said.    

At present Shirin produces some 5,000 of confectionery goods per year, while its rated capacity is 15,000 tons per year.  

OJSC Shirin, the biggest manufacturer of confectionery goods in Tajikistan, was established in 1964.  In 2001, it was transformed into joint-stock company and its director general Mustafoqul Davlatov owns 51 percent of the shares in the company.