Uzbekistan Reports Record Cotton Harvest, President Sets Higher Yield Target for 2027

Uzbekistan, the Central Asian country, says it harvested more than five million tonnes of raw cotton in 2026, its largest crop since independence in 1991. Officials describe the result as roughly a quarter higher than last year. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has set a still higher yield target for 2027, which matters for a farming sector where cotton remains a major crop.

Agriculture Minister Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov told journalists that the 2025 harvest was around four million tonnes. This year's output also beat the government's initial goal of 4.5 million tonnes. The authorities credit new cotton varieties, revised planting methods and wider use of harvesting machinery.

According to the government, the area planted with cotton has fallen by 38% in recent years, while average yields have climbed from 2.1 to 5.6 tonnes per hectare. More than 3,000 machines collected about 85% of the crop in 30 to 35 days. In Jizzakh and Syrdarya, machines picked the entire crop.

From raw material to textiles

Uzbekistan is expanding domestic processing so that more of its cotton becomes yarn, fabric and clothing at home. The minister said the country once sold only cotton fibre, and now new brands and domestic production are emerging. The World Bank says Uzbekistan has had the capacity to process its whole raw cotton crop into yarn since 2023. The textile industry employed about 600,000 people in 2024, compared with 188,000 in 2018.

Labour reforms

For decades, teachers, students and public-sector employees were mobilised for compulsory work in the cotton fields. Reforms aimed at ending forced labour began in 2017. In March 2022, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said systemic forced and child labour had been eliminated during the 2021 harvest; 99% of pickers interviewed had worked voluntarily. The same month, the Cotton Campaign lifted its call for a global boycott of Uzbek cotton, which 331 international brands and retailers had supported.

The government expects cotton farmers to earn a combined net profit of 13–14 trillion Uzbek soums (about €1bn) from this year's harvest, though final figures are not yet confirmed.

The water challenge

The World Bank says agriculture accounts for about 90% of Uzbekistan's water consumption. Mirziyoyev said cotton farming now uses half as much water as in the 1990s. The minister said farmers are moving from flooding fields to drip irrigation, which could cut water use by around 40%, and are rotating cotton with wheat to improve soil.

The 2027 target

Mirziyoyev wants the national average yield to rise from 5.6 to between 6.5 and seven tonnes per hectare in 2027. Planned measures include higher-yielding varieties, agricultural drones, artificial intelligence and more efficient irrigation. The effect on farmers' incomes and water use remains to be seen.