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Russian, Asian traders buy all the cotton at Uzbek fair
15 Oct '11
2 min read
Traders from Russia and Asian countries purchased all cotton at the 7th International Uzbek Cotton and Textile Fair held in Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan, on 12-13 October.
In the absence of buyers from the West, 60 percent of cotton and textiles sold at the fair were bought by Asian traders, while the remaining 40 percent was procured by Russian companies.
It is for the first time that all the cotton sold at the Fair will be destined to non-Western countries, including Bangladesh, Japan, China, Pakistan, Singapore, Vietnam, Turkey, UAE, South Korea, Iran and CIS countries.
At the Fair, Uztsentrimpex, Uzbekistan's centralised company that coordinates the sale of cotton, signed contracts to supply about 600,000 tons of cotton valued at US$ 550 million. Last year, the volume of contracts singed was 650,000 tons.
The quantity of cotton sold at the Uzbek Fairs dropped drastically in 2007 to 650,000 tons from a peak of 1.7 million tons in 2006.
In 2008, European and the US firms began boycott of Uzbek cotton cultivated while using forced labour, including child labour. Some of the famous companies that have stopped buying Uzbek cotton include H&M, Wal-Mart, Burberry, Marks & Spencer, Gap, Levi's and Target. These companies have committed to maintaining the boycott until the Internationl Labour Organization (ILO) issues a statement confirming Uzbekistan's complete stoppage of use of forced child labour for harvesting cotton.
However, the boycott by Western companies has not significantly impacted the sale of Uzbek cotton, as they have been replaced by Russian and Asian buyers.
In the absence of buyers from the West, 60 percent of cotton and textiles sold at the fair were bought by Asian traders, while the remaining 40 percent was procured by Russian companies.
It is for the first time that all the cotton sold at the Fair will be destined to non-Western countries, including Bangladesh, Japan, China, Pakistan, Singapore, Vietnam, Turkey, UAE, South Korea, Iran and CIS countries.
At the Fair, Uztsentrimpex, Uzbekistan's centralised company that coordinates the sale of cotton, signed contracts to supply about 600,000 tons of cotton valued at US$ 550 million. Last year, the volume of contracts singed was 650,000 tons.
The quantity of cotton sold at the Uzbek Fairs dropped drastically in 2007 to 650,000 tons from a peak of 1.7 million tons in 2006.
In 2008, European and the US firms began boycott of Uzbek cotton cultivated while using forced labour, including child labour. Some of the famous companies that have stopped buying Uzbek cotton include H&M, Wal-Mart, Burberry, Marks & Spencer, Gap, Levi's and Target. These companies have committed to maintaining the boycott until the Internationl Labour Organization (ILO) issues a statement confirming Uzbekistan's complete stoppage of use of forced child labour for harvesting cotton.
However, the boycott by Western companies has not significantly impacted the sale of Uzbek cotton, as they have been replaced by Russian and Asian buyers.
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