Turkey’s overall cotton production estimated to reach 2mn tons

With the start of cotton harvesting season, the spread of irrigated farming as a part of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), cotton, which is described as “white gold,” has started being planted on larger cultivation areas and has become the favorite of farmers in the region.

In the Harran Plain of the southeastern province of Åžanlıurfa, which meets 42 percent of Turkey’s production, cotton farmers are satisfied with the yield expectation of more than 1 million tons.

Ali Rıza Öztürkmen, the branch chairman of the Åžanlıurfa Chamber of Agricultural Engineers, said Åžanlıurfa is expected to satisfy half of Turkey’s overall cotton production, which is estimated to reach 2 million tons, added that Åžanlıurfa produces high amounts of cotton but high costs bring profits down.

Öztürkmen also said, cotton is of strategic importance for the region and Turkey’s farmers, land cultivated with cotton experienced a significant increase thanks to the Atatürk Dam.

Cotton is helping Turkey to become a textiles giant around the world by providing a significant amount of raw materials for textiles.

In 2014, Åžanlıurfa provided 42 percent of Turkey’s cotton production and this year’s production is above expectations as most of the problems facing cotton agriculture were resolved with the support of public institutions and the private sector, allowing agriculture to make considerable progress in terms of yield.

Day laborers working in cotton fields have demanded a wage increase, suggesting that it will be a profitable year if prices do not fall.