Tajikistan Has Harvested 372,132 Tons of Cotton by December 1, 2013

The Central Asian country of Tajikistan has harvested 372,132 tons of cotton by December 1, 2013, which represents 93.1 percent of the target for the current season, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

This year, cotton was grown on 191,330 hectares of land in Tajikistan.

In recent years, cotton production has been affected in Tajikistan, mainly due to the drop in world cotton prices, which have continued to decline after touching a record high of US$ 5,200 per ton in 2011, and are currently trading in international market in the range of US$ 1,700 per ton to US$ 1,800 per ton.

Tajikistan has 89 ginneries that normally operate for around 4 to 5 months a year, according to the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.

From January to October 2013, Tajikistan exported 88.6 tons of cotton valued at US$ 147.8 million, recording a decline of 22 percent compared to 114.3 tons of exports worth US$ 168.4 million made during the corresponding period of last year, according to Customs.

Over 40 percent of Tajik cotton is exported to Turkey, followed by Russia with about 23 percent, China with 13 percent and Kazakhstan with 6.5 percent.

Cotton has always been among the leading export items for Tajikistan and cotton and cotton products accounted for 18.6 percent share in the country’s exports in 2012, earning US$ 244.8 million.