Uzbekistan harvested 3.4mn tons of raw cotton as of October 12, 2026, reaching 76% of its annual contractual target of 4.5mn tons, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. Of the total harvested volume, approximately 2.6mn tons were collected using cotton-picking machines, while 848,000 tons were harvested manually. Mechanized harvesting accounted for 75% of the country's total cotton harvest.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, 174,000 tons of manually harvested cotton were collected from the edges of fields to prepare them for the movement of cotton-picking machines. The remaining 674,000 tons were harvested by farm and agro-cluster workers from smaller field plots that are inaccessible to harvesting machinery. The ministry stated that there are plans to expand these areas in the future.
Currently, approximately 3,000 high-efficiency cotton-picking machines are operating across Uzbekistan's cotton fields. More than 1,000 of these machines were supplied to farms and agro-clusters through leasing arrangements during 2026.
On October 12 alone, mechanized harvesting accounted for 147,000 tons of raw cotton. According to the ministry, each machine collected an average of 50 tons of cotton during the day. Cotton harvesting operations are continuing across the country as producers work toward the annual target of 4.5mn tons.
The harvest figures follow an earlier announcement by the State Labor Inspectorate regarding the recovery of overdue wages owed to cotton pickers. Between October 2 and 4, the inspectorate conducted monitoring activities in Karakalpakstan and the Kashkadarya, Namangan, Surkhandarya, Fergana and Khorezm regions.
As a result of these inspections, a total of UZS 8.83bn (over $740,000) in unpaid harvesting wages was recovered for cotton pickers. The State Labor Inspectorate also reminded workers that violations of labor rights, including cases of forced labor during the cotton harvest, can be reported through the Telegram bot @munosibmehnat_bot or by calling the short number 1176.
The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed that cotton harvesting remains underway, with 24% of the annual contractual target yet to be fulfilled as of October 12.