The 11th International Cotton and Textile Fair, which opened in Tashkent on October 15, this year, saw more than 1,000 representatives of the cotton and textile companies and firms from 40 world countries participating.

The fair’s main objective is to expand the long-term cooperation with international organisations and foreign companies, analyse the trends and review the prospects for the development of the world market, and to inform the Uzbek cotton consumers about its quality and latest innovations in the areas of production cotton, trade and logistics.

The demand and supply, prices and factors of influence on the world cotton market, the state and prospects of production and marketing of cotton in Uzbekistan, were the topics of discussion at the conference.

The government of Uzbekistan with the assistance of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) organises the fair annually; it is being held since 2005. Uzbekistan signed export contracts worth about seven million tons of cotton fibre at the fair, totally.

Globally, Uzbekistan ranks sixth for production and fifth for the export of cotton. Around 3.5 million tons of raw cotton and 1.2 million tons of cotton fibre are produced by the country each year. Companies from Bangladesh, China, and South Korea are the main buyers of Uzbek cotton.