It's time to pick cotton; the harvesting campaign has begun in Uzbekistan.

The cotton harvest has begun in Uzbekistan, marking the start of the cotton harvest season. Farmers in the Surkhandarya region were the first to begin harvesting cotton by hand.

According to UzA, 43 teams, involving over 5,000 people, have been formed in the Bandikhan district to ensure a high-quality and timely harvest.

Last year, Uzbekistan harvested 4 million tons of raw cotton, achieving an average yield of 46 centners per hectare.

The goal has been set to harvest 4.5 million tons of raw cotton by 2026. At the same time, the country continues to minimize manual labor and increase the share of mechanized harvesting.

At a presentation held in February of this year by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, it was noted that mechanized cotton harvesting in the country had reached 52%, and the overall level of mechanization in agriculture was 81%.

In recent years, Uzbekistan has acquired 1,756 cotton pickers. In the 2025 season, they harvested 2.1 million tons of raw cotton. Over the past five years, the volume of manual labor in the industry has decreased by 1.8 times.

The President has set the goal of increasing the share of machine cotton harvesting to at least 70%.

To further increase mechanization, 800 cotton pickers are planned for purchase in 2026, along with approximately 6,000 units of other agricultural machinery, including seeders, tractors, and combines. A total of 10,000 units of equipment are planned for purchase this year, increasing the total agricultural machinery fleet to 292,000.

Another priority remains the in-depth processing of raw cotton within the country and the gradual phase-out of raw fiber exports.

In November of last year, Uzbekistan signed a contract with the American corporation John Deere for the supply of agricultural machinery worth $300 million. Half of this amount will be used to purchase machinery and equipment for cotton harvesting.