Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, March 26 / Trend, H. Hasanov /
Cotton sowing in a 550,000 hectare area of Turkmenistan has begun, the country's Ministry of Agriculture said.
Some 165,000 hectares were allocated for cotton sowing in Mary region. In Dashoguz, the cotton sowing area will hit 140,000 hectares, Akhal and Lebap provinces - 120,000 each, Balkan province - 5,000.
Given the soil and climatic conditions, valuable fine-fiber cotton varieties are sown in the two regions of the country - Mary and Akhal provinces.
Some 1.235 million tons of cotton was collected last year, or by 12.6 percent more than in 2011.
There are 36 cotton mills under the Turkmenpagta state entity.
Traditionally, the country exports raw cotton to China, Russia, Britain, South Korea, Turkey, Iran, Indonesia, Singapore, Ukraine and the Baltic countries.
The cotton is sold through the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange of Turkmenistan.