DUSHANBE, October 20, 2010, Asia-Plus -- More than two-fold rise in the international cotton prices has made cotton growing profitable for Tajik farmers this year, Qutfullo Ziyodulloyev, the head of the crop sector department of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), said.

“This year, farmers have been selling cotton to the cotton-ginning factories at US$700-US$750 per ton, while last year, the cotton ginneries bought cotton from farmers at US$400 per ton,” he stressed.

According to him, average cotton wields this year have stood at 1.7 tons per hectare, though some farming units have reported  harvests of up to 4tons/ha.

According to the statistical data from a MoA, cotton growers in the southern Khatlon province have gathered 183,700 tons of raw cotton by October 19, which is some 90 percent of the target.  The Khatlon farmers have pledged to produce 194,000 tons of cotton this year. 

The cotton producing districts in Sughd province have yielded 72,500 tons of cotton to this day.  Their target is 92,000 tons of cotton.    

The cotton producing districts subordinate to the center have gathered 13,000.  Their target  has been determined at 14,000 tons of cotton.

The country has yielded 273,000 tons of raw cotton by October 19, which comprises 91 percent of this year’s target, determined at 300,000 tons of cotton.