Monopolists Do Not Let Azerbaijani Cotton Growers Integrate into Global Market

Begun in 2011, the dynamic processes on the world cotton market have bypassed Azerbaijani farmers. And the thing is that the monopolists are forcing farmers to sell raw cotton at the old prices.

Last year, a ton of Azerbaijani cotton was quoted on world markets for $ 4,000. But cotton companies without remorse bought a ton of raw cotton for 420 manat or $ 540 (fiber yield from 1 ton of raw cotton is about 36%). This year, many of the services and goods for cotton cultivation and care of plantations rose in prices. But farmers say the cotton companies did not become generous. The contract for the purchase of cotton was signed on last year's prices. In order to reach profitability the yield of one hectare must reach at least 30 quintals. For comparison, in 2011, the average yield per hectare was about 16 quintals per 1 ha.

The expert of the Ministry of Agriculture Rovshan Aliyev told Turan that this year, the biological yield of cotton is estimated about 50 thousand tons. This means that the yield will be higher than in 2011. How many will be picked will depend on weather conditions, he said.

Last year, cotton was planted on 42,800 hectares of land. This year, many farmers refused to grow cotton, and thus the area fell to 29,100 hectares. In 2011, the Azerbaijani cotton growers collected 66,400 tons of cotton, 73.8% more than in 2010.

Cotton production in Azerbaijan is under the control of three companies: LLC MKT Istehsalat & Kommersiya (14 plants), CTS Agro (5), and Jecot (3). Since 2011, the market of cotton was entered by another company - Shamo, which planted cotton on 2,000 hectares and has its own cotton factory in the Saatli region. But thet in fact conspire to purchase cotton from farmers at a single price. According to the USDA, currently the world price of cotton is around $ 1,600 per 1 ton. But the price is expected to rise, as it usually happens after the harvest. - 08B-