Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Mar. 26
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
Cotton growers have begun sowing in the Ahal, Balkan, Lebap and Mary regions of Turkmenistan, Trend reports referring to the Turkmen Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection.
They will be joined by farmers from the Dashoguz Region on March 27. This year, 550,000 hectares are allocated for cotton in the country, and it is planned to harvest 1,050,000 tons of raw cotton. For the first time, private agricultural producers who have received plots from a special land fund will begin to cultivate it in 25,567 hectares of land. Turkmenistan has set a plan for the next year for the collection of about 1,250,000 tons of raw cotton.
Moreover, in October 2018, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov ordered to stop the sale of cotton fiber to foreign countries. Cotton was previously a significant export item of Turkmenistan, and is currently a highly demanded raw material for the country’s rapidly developing textile industry. Until recently, up to 70 percent of the cultivated raw materials were processed domestically.
The Turkmen textile industry is represented by a wide range of exports - from cotton fiber and yarn to finished garments and knitwear, produced by the largest complexes in Central Asia which are located in the capital and in all regions of the country. A significant part of the products exported from Turkmenistan consist of home textiles, sportswear and jeans, released under world famous brands such as IKEA, Puma, Wal-Mart, Lidl, Bershka, Pool&Bear, River Island, and Costco.