Cotton Sowing Area Will Be Raised by Astrakhan to 100,000 Hectares

The Astrakhan region located in Southern European Russia will be increasing cotton sowing acreage to 100,000 hectares, in order to produce 200,000 tons of cotton annually, announced the Governor of the region Alexander Zhilkin.

According to a statement released by government of Astrakhan, Mr. Zhilkin announced this while demonstrating the new cotton crop variety AC-1 class grown in the region, to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, during his recent visit to Astrakhan.

The Governor said that during the summer harvest period of region, the cotton growers used special cultivation technology, which increased the cotton yield by 20 to 30 tons per hectare.

Negotiations are also underway with companies from Russia and Belarus, who are interested to take up the industrial processing of raw materials from the region’s light industry, he added.

Mr. Zhilkin said as of now, around 75,000 acres of area is harvested for cotton in the region and the local government intends to increase the cotton sowing area to 100,000 hectares to produce more cotton, as the quality of cotton grown in the region is superior to cotton obtained from Central Asia.

According to the Governor, a new impetus to the development of the region’s agricultural sector could give the cotton industry the boost it needs.

On his part, the Russian Prime Minister said he would give instructions to the relevant ministries and agencies to examine in detail various issues, including cotton cultivation in the region.