Land Under Cotton Cultivation Increasing

Land under cotton cultivation in Iran had decreased by over 75% from the fiscal 2001-2 to 2015-16 to reach from 300,000 hectares to 70,000 hectares, turning Iran from a cotton exporter to importer.

The figure remained unchanged in the last Iranian year that ended on March 20,2017, but it has increased by 6% this year, according to the executive of the so-called Cotton Project carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture.

“Commercial and price problems and increase in production costs, including the handpicking of cotton as well as expansion of the farming of other rival products such as rice, are among reasons for the decrease in the area under cotton cultivation during the period,” Ebrahim Hezarjaribi was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.

“The Ministry of Agriculture plans to arrive at self-sufficiency in cotton production by 2025-26 [the end of the 20-year Vision Plan],” he said.

Cotton boll production, said the official, is estimated to increase by more than 12% to reach 180,000 tons in the current fiscal year, up from last year’s 160,000 tons.

“We expect to produce about 60,000 tons of cotton fibers from this amount,” he said.

According to Managing Director of Iran Cotton Fund Mohammad Hossein Kaviani, last year’s domestic cotton production stood at approximately 40,000 tons.

“Our textile industries’ demand stands at between 90,000 and 100,000 tons per year, and as such, domestic production is not sufficient to meet the need. We have to import at least 50,000 tons annually,” he said.