QURGHON TEPPA, June 26, 2008, Asia-Plus — A lab for assessing quality of cotton fibers will open in Khatlon’s Bokhtar district on September 1, 2008, Agriculture Minister Qosim Qosimov announced at a meeting of the Khatlon regional legislature (Majlis) in Qurghon Teppa on June 21.
According to him, there will be three such laboratories in the country: in Dushanbe; Khujand; and Bokhtar.
Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, the first deputy Khatlon governor, Abdurahmon Qodiri, noted that they had already prepared premises for the lab and the necessity equipment will be delivered from the United States.
“The Asian Development Bank has allocated over $2.7 million for introduction of Universal Cotton Grading Standards in Tajikistan and establishment of those three laboratories,” said the deputy governor. “The laboratories will allow determining quality of cotton fiber in accordance with international practice within several minutes, which will allow setting a better price for Tajik cotton in international markets and higher rewards for Tajik farmers.”
