DUSAHNBE, August 26, Asia-Plus — On Friday August 25, Tajik Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov met with visiting Liverpool Cotton Exchange President Peter R. Wakefield, according to information from presidential press service.
Their talks focused on potentials of Tajik cotton exports and issues of realization of Tajik cotton fiber abroad. In the course of the talks the two exchange views on the situation with formation of cotton prices and world market trends.
Oqilov informed the Liverpool Cotton Exchange president on the present situation in Tajikistan’s cotton sector.
Mr. Wakefield highly appraised quality of cotton produced in Tajikistan, according to the source. “At the same time, the Liverpool Cotton Exchange president pointed to the necessity of further improvement of Tajik cotton,” the source said. In this connection, the two discussed the possibility of opening a joint lab for determining the cotton quality and training Tajik specialists in this sphere.
According to figures provided by the State Committee for Statistics, exports of cotton fiber have accounted for 9.5 percent of Tajikistan’s exports in January-July 2006. Tajikistan has exported 69,000 tons of cotton fiber for a total amount of US$74.1 million over the first seven months of this year, which is 3,800 tons or US$3.7 million fewer compared to the same period of 2005. Main trading partners to Tajik cotton-fiber exports were: Latvia – 23.8 percent; Iran – 20.8 percent; Kazakhstan – 19.3 percent; Uzbekistan – 12.4 percent; Ukraine – 3.6 percent; Turkey – 1.9 percent; Switzerland – 1.8 percent and Slovakia – 1.4 percent. Compared to January-July 2005 an average prices of cotton fiber has increased by US$5.00 and amounted to US$1,075 per ton.
Compared to 2004 the index of the volume of production of cotton in 2005 amounted to 80.4 percent 110.2 percent. Last year, Tajikistan yielded 447,922 tons of cotton, which was 109,069 tons fewer than in 2004. This year, over 250,000 hectares of farmland in Tajikistan have been sown with cotton, which is 38,000 hectares fewer compared to 2005. This year’s national target has been determined at 550,000 tons of cotton, which is 60,000 tons fewer than the last year’s national target.
