As per the development strategy of Tajikistan industry for the period until 2030, the country plans to establish a full cycle of processing of cotton produced in the country by 2025. The specialised departments have reported a significant increase in exports of textile materials and products in 2018. However, export statistics indicate that more than 70 per cent of this amount depends on the sale of raw cotton fiber abroad.

Last year, Tajikistan exported textile materials and products worth $226.45 million, registering an increase of 24.6 per cent compared to 2017. Of this around $1,653 million was generated from the sale of cotton fiber an increase of 36.6 per cent.

The increase in raw cotton exports continues against the backdrop of statements by relevant government departments and a full-cycle domestic fiber processing program. Until mid-2000, cotton was considered one of the two main export articles from Tajikistan (along with aluminum). In the 1980s, about 800,000 tons of cotton was harvested annually in Soviet Tajikistan.