Baku, Azerbaijan, May 5
By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:
This Iranian year (started March 21, 2019), approximately 80-82,000 hectares of land are expected to be allocated for cotton sowing, Iranian Deputy Agriculture Minister Hossein Shirzad said, Trend reports via Mizan News Agency.
He said that the sown area will grow by about 20 percent compared to last year.
He noted that employment in cotton sector is 5.2 times greater than in soybeans sector, 6 times more than in corn sector, 4 times more than in rapeseed sector and 6 times more than in wheat sector.
“The added value of raw material from cotton exceeds the price of cotton by 50 percent, the added value of colored raw material form cotton exceeds the price of cotton by 250 percent, and the added value of knitted clothing exceeds the price of cotton by 450 percent,” he said.
A few years ago, cotton sowing was given priority in Iran. But as a result of the cheapness of cotton, farmers weren’t interested in this product. Thus, Iran increased cotton imports from other countries, including Uzbekistan. Presently, the interest in cotton growing in Iran has increased.