New sorts of cotton being launched to native fields might assist resolve some farmers’ biggest grievance – that costs for his or her uncooked supplies are so low, sapping their incentive to continue to grow.
The subsequent step to make the cotton business extra viable, specialists say, is so as to add worth domestically. In 2022, 99 per cent of Azerbaijan’s cotton was exported as a uncooked product.
“Okay, we’re producing cotton now, greater than at first of the 2000s, however it’s the identical state of affairs as oil. We’re exporting solely cotton. We aren’t producing one thing,” mentioned Mr Toghrul Valiyev, an impartial economist based mostly in Baku.
“We now have sources, uncooked supplies, and I do not know why we’re not making investments to do one thing with them,” he mentioned.
One exception is GP Cotton Holdings, a completely built-in cotton and textile enterprise, working with 8,000 cotton farmers.
Its chairman, John Younger Simpson – additionally the managing companion of Bluegrass Companions, an agribusiness funding and advisory agency based mostly in Singapore – says sustainability must be baked into your complete manufacturing chain for cotton to stay viable.
He mentioned there are “large low-hanging fruits in agriculture in Azerbaijan” because of the sluggish uptake of mechanisation within the provide chain. He sees large alternatives to be extra environment friendly and innovate to enhance yields and worth.
