The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has reaffirmed its commitment to Uzbekistan’s cotton sector by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Uzbek Agency for Technical Regulation (Uzstandard Agency). The partnership aims to strengthen agricultural standards and support more sustainable cotton production in the country.

The Uzstandard Agency is the government body responsible for setting regulations and maintaining quality standards for both locally produced and imported goods in Uzbekistan.

Under the agreement, BCI and the Uzstandard Agency will work together to support national technical working groups, share knowledge on field-level best practices and certification, and integrate BCI’s Principles and Criteria (P&C) into relevant national standards.

The two organisations will also explore the development of a nationally owned cotton sustainability standard that could be benchmarked against BCI’s existing standard. They said such a framework would help promote sustainable cotton production in Uzbekistan while remaining aligned with internationally recognised sustainability requirements.