Over $ 1 billion worth of deals for export of ready-made garments and semi-finished products were signed at the 13th Uzbek International Cotton and Textile Fair which wrapped up yesterday in Tashkent.
A number of presentations were held within the framework of the forum. One of them was devoted to the ‘Better Cotton’ project for sustainable cotton project, to be implemented by IFC and the World Bank in partnership with JSC Uzbekengilsanoat, the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Labor, the Federation of Trade Unions,.
At the first stage (in 2017-2018), IFC carries out a pilot program - the development and testing of a system of standards for sustainable cotton production based on the world standards in Fergana and Jizzakh areas . After successful testing, the system will be scaled to 3000 farms and agribusinesses that produce cotton in these areas.
In 2019-2022, it is planned to expand the application of the system of standards for sustainable cotton production to the rest regions of Uzbekistan.The Better Cotton standard does not imply the use of manual labor in the collection of cotton.
In this year’s edition of the fair, Uzbekistan has applied a new approach. In particular, a significant part of the exhibits consisted of finished textile products and ready-made garments.
The President’s decree on Textile and ready garments industry development program for 2017-2019 paved the way for implementation of over 130 investment projects worth $ 2.2 billion.
Currently, the state-run JSC UzbekYengilsanoat (transl. Uzbek Light Industry) which includes more than 450 enterprises along with providing the local market with finished products, exports yarn, fabrics, knitwear and to over 50 countries of the world.
