On the caviar standard

Press, 11 October 1988, Page 20

On the caviar standard

The residents of Kabul have one reason to regret the Russian pull-out: the price of caviar is going up. Soviet troops who lay their hands on the stuff sell it in the bazaar. Last year Western diplomats snapped it up there for $3 for a four-ounce jar. Now the soldiers are leaving, and taking their caviar with them. Today the bazaar price is $lO a jar — the consolation being that this is still a fraction of what you would pay in Moscow.

The pain may spread. The free-market rouble, shopkeepers complain, has appreciated rapidly since the Russian withdrawal began in May. The Russians spend their pay cheques, topped up with caviar revenue, on cassette-recorders and other consumer goods they

never see at home. According to the not-very-believable official figures, Afghanistan had a gross domestic product of some $11.5 million — but imported $3.3 million worth of goods from Japan. Russians bought the most avidly, but many locals have money to spend too. Moneychangers keep bank accounts in London and New York, and give a higher rate for cheques than cash. Afghans off to study in Moscow resell consumer goods there to pay their way; that trade should survive the war’s end. Westerners are more interested in buying Afghan rugs. Even now, with sandbags going up around embassies and shrapnel displays in their foyers, the rug market provides a top of conversation second only to how you tell incoming fire from outgoing.