OMM Redaksiyası
Uzbekistan has long been known mainly for the production and harvesting of raw cotton. The country is now seeking to retain a larger share of the added value generated by this raw material domestically by converting cotton into yarn, knitted fabric and finished textile products for international markets.
Uzbekistan’s textile exports totaled approximately $2.3 billion in January-November 2025. This accounted for 7.3 percent of the country’s total exports. Finished textile products made up 52 percent of exports, yarn 28 percent, knitted fabric 11 percent and other fabrics 6 percent.
Domestic production expands
Domestic production in Uzbekistan is also growing. In 2025, large enterprises produced 70,100 tons of knitted fabric, up 32.5 percent from 2024.
Fergana Global Textile, operating in the city of Fergana, is one example of this transformation. Opened in August 2020, the facility produces combed and blended yarn, as well as dyed and printed knitted fabrics. Its production lines use equipment from Rieter, Murata, USTER and Mayer & Cie.
According to the company, its production chain covers all stages, from cotton and yarn preparation to knitting, dyeing and garment production. The Fergana facility has created more than 1,500 jobs.
Modern production draws on a traditional weaving heritage
Uzbekistan’s textile industry is not an entirely new sector. The country, particularly the city of Margilan, has longstanding silk-making and weaving traditions associated with atlas and adras fabrics. The technique used to produce these fabrics was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2023.
Traditional Uzbek textiles are distinguished by their vibrant colors and ikat-style patterns, created by dyeing the threads before they are woven. UNESCO says atlas and adras production involves the hand-spinning, dyeing and weaving of threads.
This heritage differs from the mass production carried out at facilities such as Fergana Global Textile. At the facility, dyeing and printing are conducted using industrial methods. The company’s products include Single Jersey, Interlock, Ribana, Pique and Honeycomb knitted fabrics, as well as products dyed using various techniques.
Textile products exported to 75 countries
Uzbekistan’s textile products were shipped to 75 countries in 2025. Key markets included Russia, Türkiye, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, China, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.
The country also entered markets such as Algeria, Angola, Greece and Kuwait with finished textile, knitted and woven products. According to Uzbekistan’s Technical Regulation Agency, Fergana Global Textile exported products worth approximately $17 million to 14 countries in 2025.
The company produces yarn, knitted fabric and finished knitted products. Anvarjon Abdullayev, head of the Koshtеpa district, said cotton had been planted on 6,400 hectares in the district this year, with a target of harvesting 33,000 tons.
He said about 90 percent of the cotton fields are expected to be harvested mechanically this year. Farmers are preparing the fields for cotton-picking machinery. Starting this year, members of farming enterprises are removing obstacles only from fields where machines will operate.
Abdullayev said the entire production process complies with international labor standards and stated that forced labor and child labor are not used in cotton harvesting.
These figures show that Uzbekistan is seeking to evolve from a cotton producer into a country competing across the entire textile supply chain. By processing more raw cotton domestically, the country is expanding production stages from fiber and yarn to fabric and then finished products.
