According to a report by the Turkmenistan National News Agency on September 5, Turkmenistan’s cotton planting area reached 545,000 hectares in 2018, and it plans to purchase and store 1.05 million tons of cotton, including 207,000 tons in Ahal Prefecture and 230,000 tons in Dashoguz Prefecture. tons, Lebapu Region 300,000 tons, and Mare Region 313,000 tons. Cotton harvesting in Ahal, Lebap, and Mare prefectures started on September 5, while Dashoguz prefecture plans to start related work on the 16th of this month.
Cotton cultivation is one of the main agro-industrial industries in Turkmenistan and has made important contributions to Turkmenistan’s implementation of import substitution and export-oriented plans. In order to support cotton cultivation, the Turkmenistan government purchased a large amount of agricultural machinery and equipment. In 2016, President Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan signed a presidential decree authorizing the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of Turkmenistan to sign a contract with John Deere to purchase 1,350 units of various agricultural machinery, including 400 units of cotton harvesters. Turkmenistan also purchased 500 cotton harvesters from the Tashkent Agricultural Machinery Factory in Uzbekistan. In addition, the Turkmenistan government also provides agricultural machinery, seeds, mineral fertilizers, irrigation water and other related services needed for cotton cultivation at preferential prices. (Title: Turkmenistan starts 2018 cotton harvest)
