Only 55 percent of the cotton Tajikistan produced last year was processed into manufactured goods in Tajikistan, while the remainder was exported for manufacturing outside the country, the Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Nematullo Hikmatullozoda, told reporters in Dushanbe on February 15.
According to data from the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MoEDT), Tajikistan last year yielded about 300,000 tons of raw cotton.
In all, Tajikistan reportedly exported 93,000 tons of cotton fiber worth 165 million U.S. dollars last year. The main importers of Tajikistan’s cotton are Turkey, Kazakhstan and China.
Hikmatullozoda said the president had ordered to rehabilitate all cotton-processing enterprises in the country.
“Rehabilitation of these enterprises requires investments,” the minister added.
Recall, the Minister of Industry and New Technologies, Zarobiddin Fayzullozoda, told reporters in Dushanbe on February 12 hat that 127 industrial enterprises (little more than 6 percent of the overall number of industrial enterprises registered in the country) were not in operation last year. To-date, 2,097 industrial enterprises have reportedly been registered in Tajikistan.
Many of the enterprises that stood idle last year were not in operation due to lack of raw materials or circulating assets.
