Last year, Iran’s ginned cotton production was around 40,000 tons, Iran Cotton Fund managing director Mohammad Hossein Kaviani was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
Iran’s domestic textile industry needs around 90,000 to 100,000 tons of cotton annually, and more than half of this demand is met through imports. In the first ten months to January 20, 2018, Iran imported nearly 56,000 tons of cotton.
Iran had turned from being a cotton exporter to an imported during 2001-16, when the area under cotton cultivation declined more than 75 per cent to 70,000 hectares from 300,000 hectares. Low price of cotton compared to other agricultural products is one of the reasons for drop in cotton cultivation.
However, land under cotton cultivation has grown by 6 per cent in the current year, according to data of Cotton Project, being implemented by the ministry of agriculture. (RKS)
Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India