Uzbekistan has identified participants in an experiment in which textile enterprises will independently conclude contracts for the cultivation and supply of cotton with farmers and other agricultural producers, RIA "Fashion" reports with reference to the news agency "strong"Fergana». The experiment will involve 13 companies. FromAndijan, Surkhandarya and Navoi regions will be represented by two enterprises, one enterprise from Jizzakh, Kashkadarya, Namangan, Samarkand, Tashkent, Ferghana, Khorezm regions and Karakalpakstan.

The experiment will involve lands with a total area of almost 141 000 hectares. In total, more than 1.1 million hectares of land have been allocated for cotton in Uzbekistan. In 2017, the country produced 951,900 tons of cotton fiber. They stopped exporting it, deciding to process it on their own and sell finished textile products abroad.

The companies of the participants of the experiment are subject to the conditions provided for farmers and the procedure for the purchase of agricultural machinery for leasing, the supply of mineral fertilizers, seed seeds, fuels and lubricants, plant chemical protection products, and so on. They were allowed to certify cotton fiber produced for their own needs on a voluntary basis, sell its surplus to other local consumers, set prices for purchased raw cotton on a contractual basis, but they should not be lower than the state.

The participants of the experiment should receive loans from banks in the amount of at least 60% of the estimated need to finance the cultivation and supply of raw cotton. Moreover, the lending rate should not exceed 3% per annum. 

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