Some 180,000 tons of cotton bolls were produced in Iran in the last fiscal year (March 2017-18), of which close to 60,000 tons of carded and refined cotton were made, the head of Cotton Project carried out by the Agriculture Ministry said.
Ebrahim Hezarjaribi also told Young Journalists Club that the production volume meets 47% of domestic demand.
“It is estimated that about 200,000 tons of cotton bolls will be produced in the current fiscal year. Plans are to achieve self-sufficiency by 2026 (the end of 20-Year Vision Plan),” he said.
Iran was once an exporter of cotton, besides meeting its own domestic demand. But the situation changed as land under cultivation in the country declined by over 75% from 300,000 to 70,000 hectares during 2001-16.
According to Hezarjaribi, the area under cultivation remained at 70,000 until two years ago, but increased by 6% last year.
Iran has the capacity to increase cotton production, however the low price of domestically-produced cotton compared with other agricultural products has made many farmers to switch to other crops.
