Uzbek cotton sales in 2011 will not be to western companies

Uzbek cotton sales in 2011 will not be to western companies

The 7th International Cotton and Textile Fair took place in Tashkent on 12-13 October without a single buyer from a western company represented among the delegates.

In 2011, for the first time, all the cotton and textiles sold at the Uzbek cotton fair will be destined for CIS countries and countries further east including China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Japan, UAE, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, South Korea and Singapore.

According to figures published by the CottonCampagin website, Russian companies have bought around 40% of the cotton produced in Uzbekistan this year, the remaining 60% will be bought up by Asian traders.

Demand for Uzbek cotton gradually declining

At the recent trade fair Uztsentrimpex, the centralised company which coordinates the sale of cotton, has signed contracts to supply around 600,000 tonnes

We can hardly expect sales volumes to fall by as much in subsequent years. Western traders have simply been replaced now by Russian and Asian buyers"
Tashkent consultant

of ‘white gold’ with a value of more than US$550 million. This is around 50,000 tonnes less than the sales volume one year ago.

The fall in cotton sales has been attributed to the refusal of European and American firms to buy cotton cultivated with the exploitation of forced labour including forced child labour, experts in Tashkent believe.

However, analysts also say that the boycott that western companies have mounted against Uzbek cotton has not had a significant impact on the sales of raw cotton, since the reduction in export volumes began before western companies stopped buying the cotton from Uzbekistan.

In 2007, the quantity of cotton sold at the Uzbek cotton fair fell by more than 50% compared to the previous year – from 1.7 million tonnes in 2006 to 650,000 tonnes in 2007.

“We can hardly expect sales volumes to fall by as much in subsequent years. Western traders have simply been replaced now by Russian and Asian buyers,” said

	Logo of 2011 Tashkent cotton fair

one employee of a consultancy in Tashkent, who asked us not to give his name.

USA and Europe won’t buy cotton harvested by children

The boycott of Uzbek cotton by European and US firms began in 2008. To date more than 60 companies have stopped buying Uzbek cotton, including famous clothing brands and chain stores such as Burberry, Levi Strauss & Co, Marks & Spencer, Target, H&M, Gap, C&A and Wal-Mart, the Responsible Sourcing Network claims.

On 12th October, as the International Uzbek Cotton Fair 2001 opened its doors, these companies signed a declaration that they would not allow cotton harvested by children to be used in the production of their goods. They have committed to maintaining the boycott until the Internationl Labour Organization (ILO) confirms that Uzbekistan has ceased entirely its use of forced child labour to harvest cotton.