Afghanistan and Uzbekistan Collaborate to Boost Cotton Industry and Regional Trade
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has announced that Uzbek textile companies, after examining samples of Afghan cotton, have expressed readiness to enter initial contracts ranging from 100 to 300 tons. The ultimate goal is to increase trade volume to 30,000 tons in the future.
According to UNODC, this topic was discussed during a working trip by a group of Afghan cotton traders and experts to Uzbekistan; a trip that took place from April 25 to May 2, 2026, supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and UNODC’s regional office for Central Asia.
During the program, representatives of Afghanistan’s cotton industry met with government officials, farmers, textile unions, and private companies in Uzbekistan to discuss increasing cotton production, processing, and exports. Both sides described the trip as an important step toward expanding economic cooperation and strengthening regional trade.
UNODC added that, alongside trade discussions, technical cooperation was also reviewed, including improving cotton seeds, training farmers, laboratory testing, and upgrading irrigation technology in agricultural areas.
The Japanese representative for Afghan affairs emphasized at the meeting that cotton could become a significant source of legal income for Afghan farmers and provide an alternative to poppy cultivation—a challenge that has been one of the fundamental issues for the country’s agricultural economy in recent years.
