Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Aug.22 / Trend, H. Hasanov /
The cotton picking campaign in Turkmenistan will begin Aug. 24 in Balkan, Lebap, and the Mary regions, and on Aug.31 in the Dashoguz region, an official Turkmen source said.
Harvesting is traditionally finished by October.
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov said recently that "harvesting the entire sown areas without accruing losses depends on timely and organized gathering".
Berdimuhammadov believes that the government creates the necessary conditions for "farmers to work more efficiently, increasing the yield of cotton and other crops."
According to the Agriculture Ministry, cotton harvesters and other machineries are in the ready mode, having purchased the required volumes of defoliants. Producers are permitted to sell cotton harvested in excess of contractual obligations by way of the state commodity exchange, including for export.
Some 550,000 hectares of land have been allocated for cotton. While sowing, special emphasis is placed on each region's soil and climatic characteristics. During the last sowing season, agricultural machinery was implemented from the U.S. and Belarus.
About 1.3 million tons of raw cotton was collected, instead of the 1.05 million tons planned in 2010.
Some 35 cotton-cleaning plants at the State Concern Turkmenpagta (Turkmenhlopok) are operating in the country. Medium- fibrous Upland type cotton grows in all regions throughout the country. Pima type fine-fiber cotton grows in the Akhal and Mary provinces.
The first international exhibition-fair of cotton production is planned to be held this autumn in Ashgabat. The world demand for cotton fiber and corresponding price trends are under constant monitoring.