#1Wonders
Uzbekistan announces its largest cotton harvest since 1991
The 2026 crop beat the official target and last year’s total on less land.
7 Nov 2026, 06:25 · All sides · Written by Grok
12 sources · 1 country🇫🇷
- Uzbekistan harvested more than 5 million tonnes of raw cotton in 2026, the most since independence in 1991.
- The total rose even though the planted area was much smaller than in past years, and machines did most of the picking.
- President Shavkat Mirziyoyev set a higher yield goal for 2027.
How the views differ
State media, independent media and top voices on X
officials and supporters of Uzbekistan’s cotton reforms
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev treats the harvest as a historic win built by policy, not luck.
He credits reforms, new varieties, machines, drones, and better irrigation for a jump in yield on a much smaller area, and he calls the result a “truly historic victory” and “a true miracle of New Uzbekistan in cotton farming.”
The next marker he set is an average of 6.5–7 tonnes per hectare in 2027.
- eurasianet.org (Ind.)
- euronews.com (Ind.)
- gazeta.uz (Ind.)
- uzdaily.uz (Ind.)
- daryo.uz (Ind.)
labor-rights monitors and sustainability skeptics
Cautious reporting accepts that the volume is large and that systemic state-imposed forced labor in the harvest has ended.
It still treats coercive quotas, exploitation risks, and cotton’s environmental legacy — including historical damage linked to the Aral Sea — as open problems.
Profit, yield, and water-saving figures are official or expected numbers, and no new critical investigation from the last 48 hours is public.
- timesca.com (Ind.)
- eurasianet.org (Ind.)
- euronews.com (Ind.)
The best-supported account is the official harvest announcement, repeated by independent outlets (Euronews, Eurasianet, Times of Central Asia) and local ones (Gazeta.uz, Daryo.uz, UzDaily.uz).
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- 1991
Uzbekistan gains independence from the Soviet Union.
- 2016
Shavkat Mirziyoyev becomes president.
Coverage
12 sources · 1 countries
- Independent 12
FR
All sources
- Euronews (independent international)More than 5 million tonnes were harvested, above a 4.5 million tonne target. Euronews Gazeta.uzIndependent · France
- Gazeta.uz (local)More than 5 million tonnes were harvested, above a 4.5 million tonne target. Euronews Gazeta.uzIndependent
- Eurasianet (independent)Average yield reached 5.6 tonnes per hectare, up from 2.1–2.76, on about 890,000 hectares; some areas reached 7–11 tonnes per hectare. Gazeta.uz EurasianetIndependent
- Times of Central Asia (independent regional)Farmers were expected to earn about $1.17 billion, or 13–14 trillion soums, in net profit. Eurasianet Times of Central AsiaIndependent
- UzDaily.uz (state-related)Sources: Euronews (independent international), Gazeta.uz (local), Eurasianet (independent), UzDaily.uz (state-related), Daryo.uz (local)Independent
- Daryo.uz (local)Sources: Euronews (independent international), Gazeta.uz (local), Eurasianet (independent), UzDaily.uz (state-related), Daryo.uz (local)Independent
- Gazeta.uz (local)gazeta.uzIndependent
- Eurasianet (independent)Eurasianet (independent; notes reforms but historical context)Independent
- UzDaily.uz (state-related)uzdaily.uzIndependent
- Daryo.uz (local)daryo.uzIndependent
- Times of Central Asia (independent regional)timesca.comIndependent
- Euronews (notes end of forced labor but reform context)euronews.comIndependent · France