The cotton harvest is in full swing in Tajikistan. Purchasing companies are offering 6.00-7.00 somonis per kilogram of raw cotton, but this price doesn’t satisfy producers. They’ve spent at least 5.00-6.00 somonis to grow each kilogram of cotton. Farmers also pay 1.00 somoni to cotton-pickers for each kilogram picked, but cotton-pickers are reluctant, demanding 2.00 somonis per kilogram. As a result, cotton farmers face losses instead of profits.
The cotton target will be met
According to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), as of October 4, about 102,000 tons of cotton have been harvested. This year, 174,979 hectares were planted with cotton in Tajikistan. The forecast is for 362,000 tons of raw cotton, with an expected yield of 0.2-0.21 ton per hectare. However, farmers are actually collecting more—if yields reach 0.25 ton, the cotton harvest could exceed 430,000 tons.
The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MoEDT) had predicted cotton fiber exports to reach 88,900 tons, amounting to US$162 million (a little over US$1,800 per ton) this year.
However, global cotton prices have fallen by 15% compared to last year and are now around US$1,600 per ton. Given that 3.00 kg of raw cotton produces 1.00 kg of fiber, the price per ton of raw cotton, depending on the variety, ranges from US$530 to US$650 (5,600 to 6,900 somonis).
Cotton-pickers unsatisfied with pay
Warm days positively impact the harvest of higher-quality cotton. After rainy days, the grade of cotton decreases, and naturally, so do prices. Therefore, timely harvesting is crucial. Producers—cooperatives and dehqon (private) farms—hire seasonal workers for this purpose. In Tajikistan, unlike before, people are not forced to help farmers with the harvest. If a fair price is offered for picking 1.00 kg of cotton and wages are paid on time, people willingly come to the fields. However, cotton picking doesn’t pay much. From dawn to dusk, if you work hard and the field is plentiful, you can pick 80.00-100.00 kg and earn the same number of somoni. But with other day jobs, such as construction, repair work, or harvesting other crops, you can earn up to 200 somonis a day.
In neighboring Uzbekistan, from October 9, manual cotton pickers started receiving 2,500 soms (US$0.20 or 2.10 somonis) per kilogram. Of this, 2,000 soms are subsidized by the government to encourage labor, and the remaining 500 soms come from the cotton cluster’s funds.
Farmers dissatisfied with purchase prices
Farmers' incomes don’t meet their expectations. Complaints are heard everywhere, including on social media. One farmer listed his expenses: "1.00 kg of cotton seeds costs 10 somonis, a bag of nitrate fertilizer reaches 350.00 somonis during the season, diesel fuel is over 12.00 somonis per liter, and on top of that, you have to pay for machinery services, laborers, and water." In online forums, users are discussing cotton prices. Some optimists hope that the price of raw cotton will rise by the end of the year, but years of observation show that prices drop during the peak harvesting season. Meanwhile, Tajikistan earns good revenue from cotton fiber exports.
According to the Customs Service, over the first 8 months of 2024, cotton fiber exports exceeded 77,000 tons, bringing in more than $144 million. However, this doesn’t reflect in the income of the farmers—the producers of "white gold."
Growing cotton on every patch of land isn’t profitable
Authorities, however, see things differently. They believe that a hectare of cotton creates more jobs than other agricultural crops and brings more foreign currency into the state treasury. Therefore, they push farmers to grow cotton even on small plots of land. Last year, farmer Bakhtiyor Haitboyev spoke about the inefficiency of such production: “Cotton is a profitable crop, but it’s only effective on large plots of at least 20 hectares. Most small dehqon farms have between 2.0 and 5.0 hectares,” he explained. As a solution, experts suggest that processing enterprises should buy raw materials directly from farmers at fair prices, bypassing intermediary firms. For now, however, farmers are forced to sell their harvested white gold at prices dictated by buyers, as they lack the means to store their products through the winter.
