Uzbekistan Expands Cotton Processing, Knitted Fabric Production And Textile Exports
Uzbekistan is accelerating the domestic processing of cotton into yarn, knitted fabrics and finished textile products as it seeks to capture greater value from its raw material base and strengthen its position in global textile markets.
The country exported approximately US$ 2.3 billion worth of textile products during January-November 2025, accounting for 7.3% of total national exports. Finished textile products represented 52% of textile exports, followed by yarn at 28%, knitted fabrics at 11% and other fabrics at 6%.
Knitted Fabric Production Rises
Domestic knitted fabric production has also expanded. Large enterprises in Uzbekistan produced 70,100 tonnes of knitted fabric in 2025, representing a 32.5% increase compared with 2024.
One example is Fergana Global Textile, based in the city of Fergana. Established in August 2020, the company produces combed and blended yarn as well as dyed and printed knitted fabrics.
The facility uses equipment from international textile machinery suppliers including Rieter, Murata, USTER and Mayer & Cie. According to the company, its integrated production chain covers cotton and yarn preparation, knitting, dyeing and garment manufacturing.
The facility has created more than 1,500 jobs, while its product portfolio includes single jersey, interlock, ribana, pique and honeycomb knitted fabrics, along with dyed and printed textile products.
From Cotton to Finished Products
The development reflects Uzbekistan’s broader effort to move beyond the export of raw cotton and increase domestic value addition across the textile supply chain.
Instead of exporting cotton at an early stage of processing, the country is expanding capabilities across spinning, knitting, dyeing, printing and garment manufacturing. This allows a larger share of the value generated from cotton to be retained within the domestic economy.
Uzbekistan’s textile products were exported to 75 countries in 2025, with Russia, Türkiye, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, China, Germany and the UAE among the key markets.
The country also expanded its reach into markets including Algeria, Angola, Greece and Kuwait with finished textile, knitted and woven products.
Fergana Global Textile alone exported approximately US$ 17 million worth of products to 14 countries in 2025, according to Uzbekistan’s Technical Regulation Agency.
Combining Textile Heritage with Industrial Production
Uzbekistan’s growing modern textile industry builds on a longstanding textile and weaving heritage. The city of Margilan, in particular, is renowned for its traditional silk production and atlas and adras fabrics.
The traditional techniques associated with these fabrics were inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2023. Atlas and adras production involves hand-spinning, dyeing and weaving, with distinctive ikat-style patterns created by dyeing threads before weaving.
Modern textile facilities such as Fergana Global Textile operate on a significantly larger industrial scale, using automated machinery and industrial dyeing, printing and knitting technologies.
With rising production of yarn, knitted fabrics and finished textile products, Uzbekistan is positioning itself as a more vertically integrated textile manufacturing base. The expansion indicates a strategic shift from being primarily a cotton producer towards competing across multiple stages of the global textile value chain.
