The cotton policy in Uzbekistan is aimed at maintaining stable production

Onthe 17th October 2012 at the Uzexpocentre in Tashkent, the eighthInternational Uzbek Cotton and Textile Fair began. National and internationalcompanies involved in the cotton business arrived for the two-day fair.Participants at the event have had the opportunity to sign contracts for Uzbekcotton and sample many different Uzbek cotton products such as cotton yarn,knitted items and silk garments.Thepoint of the fair is to expand and diversify Uzbekistan’s cotton exportdestinations. As one of the leading cotton producers in Central Asia, as well as the world, Uzbekistan is looking to tap intosome emerging markets to continue expanding this industry, as well as itsentire economy.Thereare a number of opportunities for investments in Uzbekistan, but the InternationalUzbek Cotton and Textile Fair showcased the great potential this one producthas, and foreign investors were eager to be a part of this growing industry.Officialsfrom the Uzbek government announced that domestic cotton consumption wouldincrease up to 70 per cent within the next three years. This industry is onethat has a tendency to experience constant growth. 

Uzbek light industrycompanies commissioned forty-three industrial companies worth US$387 million.In2012 alone, 17 new textile enterprises were established. Foreign investment in Uzbekistan’s textile industry isworth about US$2 billion, and according to government officials, it plans toincrease the volume of wholesale bengaline fabric textile products, including yarn, fabrics, and apparel,by 20 per cent and exports by 10 per cent annually. If these predictions cometo fruition, the number of investment opportunities will be increasingdramatically in the near future.Thoughmany of the speeches at the fair expressed the increasing figures for cottonproduction in Uzbekistan, many governmentofficials spent time discussing on another aspect of Uzbek cotton, quality. 

The cotton policy in Uzbekistan is aimed at maintaining stable production and improving the quality of the cotton produced.Inthe last two decades, the Uzbek Research Institute of Cotton Breeding developed162 new varieties of cotton. 45 of those new varieties were recommended forplanting in various regions around the country. Uzbekistan has also madetechnological improvements in the existing cotton gins. Between 2007 and 2012,41 cotton gins were fully modernised and reconstructed. Uzbekistan plans tokeep improving the cotton produced as well as how it is produced currently wellinto the future.Uzbekistan’s economy is much morethan cotton however. Mining is extremely important to the national economy, as Uzbekistan is the seventh largestgold producer in the world and is estimated to make up 20 per cent of totalexports. Its abundance of natural gas also plays a major role in its economy.However, the cotton and textile industry is still the fundamental aspect of theeconomy in Uzbekistan.