DUSHANBE, September 30, 2008, Asia-Plus  -- Tajik cotton growers are taking measures to gather cotton and fulfill the national target, which, according to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), has been determined at 552,500.

Cotton growers of the Khatlon province have yielded 175,243 tons of raw cotton by September 30, which is 52.8 percent of this year’s target determined at 331,900 tons. 

Cotton farmers in districts subordinate to the center, central Tajikistan, have pledged to gather 48,500 tons of raw cotton this year.  They have yielded some 17,000 tons of cotton to this date, which is 34.7 percent of the target. 

Cotton growers of the northern Sughd province have yielded more than 42,000 tons of cotton by September 30, which is 24.4 percent of the target. Their target is 172,100 tons of cotton.

The republic has yielded more than 234,000 tons of cotton so far, which comprises 42.4 percent of this year''s target.  This year, cotton has been planted on an area of 242,439 hectares.

We will recall that last year, farmers planted cotton on the area of 254,279 hectares, and the country yielded 419,597 tons of cotton last year, reaching 76.3 percent of the target that had been determined at 550,000 tons.