Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, March 18
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
Cotton planting in Turkmenistan starts in late March, Trend reports referring to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment Protection of the country.
Sowing of cotton in Akhal, Balkan, Lebap and Mary provinces will begin on March 23, and on March 27 in Dashoguz province in the country's north.
"Farmers are fully and timely provided with high-quality seeds, various types of fertilizers, modern agricultural equipment, water. All this allows us to count on getting high yields," read the ministry's report.
This year, 550,000 hectares have been allocated for cotton growing in the country, and it is planned to harvest 1.05 million tons of raw cotton. Cotton seeds are planned to be distributed by region, taking into account the soil and climatic conditions.
Turkmenistan next year set a plan for the collection of raw cotton at the level of 1.25 million tons.
In October 2018, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov instructed to stop selling cotton fiber to foreign countries.
Over one million tons of cotton are grown annually in Turkmenistan. The cotton serves as a raw material for the development of textile industry. Until recently Turkmenistan processed up to 70 percent of the cultivated raw cotton.
The textile industry of Turkmenistan is represented with a wide range of exported products - from cotton fiber and yarn to finished garments and knitwear, which are produced by the largest textile complexes in Central Asia, located in the capital and in all regions of the country.
A significant part of the products of Turkmenistan, supplied abroad, are home textiles, sportswear and jeans produced under the world-famous trademarks IKEA, Puma, Walmart, Lidl, Bershka, Pull & Bear, River Island, Cosco.