Uzbekistan, formerly part of the top six cotton-exporting countries, is seeking to address the deficit of this raw material through supplies from the United States. According to "Uztextilprom," negotiations were recently held in Tashkent with the largest U.S. cotton company, "Cotton Council International," as part of this project. The exact shipment volumes have not been officially announced yet and are expected to be clarified no later than April, according to the information from the press service of the "Uztextilprom" association, RIA Novosti reports.
The United States lifted the ban on cotton imports from Uzbekistan by 2022, which had been imposed in 2010 on the pretext of child and forced labor in the cotton industry of the country. Consequently, Uzbekistan's shipments to the United States resumed in the early 2020s.
However, the active development of cotton processing in the last five years, according to "Uztextilprom," has led to a shortage of this raw material. Despite ceasing raw cotton exports in the early 2020s, Uzbekistan did not achieve self-sufficiency for its local light industry. Hence, there is a growing demand for imported raw materials. According to the same information, "Cotton Council International" plans to enter into a series of agreements aimed at developing the potential of Uzbek textile enterprises.
Producer regions of raw cotton and its semi-finished products in Uzbekistan, early 2020s (% of total volume)
Uzbekistan is the main exporter of cotton yarn to Russia, with over 10 Russian light industry companies engaged in joint production of cotton and, in general, textile products. The technological capacities of Russia's light industry are primarily oriented towards Central Asian raw materials, so there may be challenges in processing American cotton and its semi-finished products in Russia.
In this context, the introduction of raw materials from American varieties in Uzbekistan aligns with a comment made by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in August 2022: "While the world will do without Russian energy resources" (which the Secretary of State confidently predicted), "Russia itself will not do without imported cotton."
CentralasianLIGHT.org
February 27, 2024