Machines pick 85% of Uzbekistan’s biggest cotton crop since 1991

Farmers from all over Uzbekistan have harvested a record-breaking 5 million tonnes of raw cotton this year despite cutting back the land it devotes to the crop in recent years, president Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced on 5 November.

‘This is a truly historic victory, won through your hard work, courage and perseverance,’ the president told farmers and agricultural workers. 

Mirziyoyev estimated this year’s average yield at 5.6 tonnes per hectare, citing denser planting and newer cotton varieties.

The Uzbek president said that more than 3,000 machines harvested approximately 85% of the crop in 30 to 35 days. The government will now aim for a national average yield of 6.5 to 7 tonnes per hectare next year.

Read more: USDA boosts Uzbekistan cotton production forecast for 2026/27 season

Textiles and clothing make up about 3% of GDP

Textiles brought in $2.1 billion in the first eight months of 2026, or 9.4% of the country’s total exports, according to Uzbekistan’s National Statistics Committee.

The wider textile and garment industry accounts for about 3% of GDP and employs roughly 600,000 people, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

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Over the past decades, the Uzbek authorities sent schoolchildren, teachers and other public employees to pick cotton by hand.

It was only until after 2020 that the government abolished the state production order for raw cotton.

“We discontinued the practice of sending teachers, university students, schoolchildren and other public-sector employees into the fields,’ the president reiterated on Thursday, adding that the government relies instead on scientific advances and automated farming techniques. 

The International Labour Organization acknowledged that the 2021 harvest was free of systemic child and forced labour.