Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan had harvested 3.4 million tonnes of raw cotton as of 12 October 2026, equivalent to 76% of the contractual target of 4.5 million tonnes, the country’s Ministry of Agriculture reports.
Of the total, 2.6 million tonnes were harvested using cotton-picking machines, while another 848,000 tonnes were picked by hand. Mechanised harvesting therefore accounted for around 75% of the crop.
Of the cotton picked by hand, 174,000 tonnes came from field edges, where manual harvesting helps prepare areas for machinery to turn and operate. Another 674,000 tonnes were collected by workers from farms and agricultural clusters on small plots that machines cannot access. Plans call for expanding the area of such plots.
Around 3,000 high-capacity cotton-picking machines are involved in the harvest. In addition, more than 1,000 modern cotton-picking machines were leased to farms and agricultural clusters this year.
According to the ministry, 147,000 tonnes of raw cotton were harvested using machinery on 12 October. Each machine collected an average of around 50 tonnes during the day.
The harvesting campaign is continuing. Reaching the contractual target of 4.5 million tonnes will require collecting approximately another 1.1 million tonnes of raw cotton.
Anvar Umarov
Anvar Umarov is the founder and editor-in-chief of UzDaily, a leading business and news publication covering Uzbekistan and Central Asia. With over 20 years of experience in journalism, he has also worked as a PR manager for both state and private organizations, bringing a broad perspective on media, communications, and public affairs to his editorial leadership.
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