In September, the harvest period for “white gold” – cotton – began in the Turkestan region. The region is the only one in Kazakhstan where cotton is grown. Domestic raw materials are exported to Latvia, Moldova, Russia, Belarus and Turkey.

One of the striking examples of domestic cotton producers is Ramazan Agro LLP. The company was created in 2009, it owns fields with an area of ​​over 723 hectares and its own cotton processing plant, which allows you to increase the cost of the received raw materials several times in the form of finished products and maintain a continuous year-round production process from spring field work to the end of raw cotton processing. The enterprise itself employs about 60 workers, and the plant employs up to 350-400 workers during the harvest season.

As Bekzhan Zhukabaev, deputy director of the branch of Kazagrofinance JSC in Shymkent and the Turkestan region, notes, KazAgroFinance JSC actively supports farmers in the region. “In 2023, the branch set an ambitious plan to finance local farmers to lease agricultural equipment worth 9.5 billion tenge. To date, 74% of the annual plan has been fulfilled, that is, equipment worth 7.3 billion tenge has already been leased to beneficiaries. In quantitative terms, this is 575 units of equipment, including 176 units intended for cotton harvesting. Thus, through joint efforts we strive for the successful implementation of the cotton harvest campaign and, in general, for the development of agriculture in the region,” noted Bekzhan Zhukabaev.

According to Bekzhan Zhukabaev, Ramazan-Agro LLP uses high-tech equipment - in total, the farm owns more than 120 units of equipment: John Deere cotton harvesters, John Deere wheeled tractors and

"Belorus", tractor trailers, front and telescopic loaders, cultivators, seeders, plows and much more.

“Thanks to technology, with an average yield of 25-26 centners per hectare, farming harvests up to 40 centners per hectare. We use elite seeds from the Turkish manufacturer PROGEN TONUM. Last year we produced and stored about 20,000 tons of raw cotton, and this season we plan to increase the volume to 25,000 tons,” said Meirkhan Batyrbek, director of Ramazan Agro LLP.

In general, the company’s products, including fiber, cotton seeds, lint and uluk, find their application both in the domestic market and in other countries. “For example, processed seeds are sent to the local enterprise ShymkentMay JSC, which produces cottonseed oil, known in Kazakhstan under the Donya brand. The company exports processed raw cotton - cotton fiber, lint, uluk to the Czech Republic, and further to Latvia, Moldova, Russia, Belarus and Turkey, including through cooperation with the company Cotton CZ sro. Cotton production is practically waste-free,” comments the adviser Director of Ramazan-Agro LLP Marat Kambarov.

Cotton is one of the world's most important crops, providing up to 35% of the world's fiber production. Due to its high added value, cotton has been nicknamed “white gold”, and its production plays an important role in the development of the economies of developing countries. In August 2021, the United Nations General Assembly declared October 7th as the annual World Cotton Day.