Uzbekistan plans to harvest cotton exclusively by machine from 2027, reported 24.kg, citing Uzbek Agriculture Minister Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov.
“Starting next year, cotton is expected to be harvested exclusively by machines,” the minister said. About 53,000 hectares of cotton fields that machines cannot reach will be switched to vegetables and other food crops. The ministry issued no instructions this year requiring people to take part in the harvest. Manual picking was allowed only on narrow strips where machines turn.
The announcement comes after a record harvest. Uzbekistan gathered more than 5 million tonnes of raw cotton in 2026, worth about 34 trillion soums, compared with roughly 4 million tonnes in 2025. It is the country’s first harvest above 5 million tonnes in 35 years.
The move has international significance. For years, Uzbek cotton was boycotted over forced and child labour. In 2014 the World Bank estimated that 2.2–3 million people took part in the harvest. The Cotton Campaign coalition lifted its boycott in 2021 after the government ended systemic forced labour. Full mechanisation would remove the last element of a system that once mobilised students, teachers and doctors every autumn, and would strengthen access to Western markets for Uzbek textiles. A World Bank study has warned, however, that mechanisation could cut seasonal income in rural areas.
CentralasianLIGHT.org,
November 9, 2026