Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is seriously dissatisfied with the slow development of the country's textile industry.

Speaking at a government meeting in the Turkmenbashi city, he demanded an increase in the pace of work in this industry, local Turkmen media reported.

The Turkmen president, who paid a working visit to the country's Balkan province, said the improvement of quality and growth of the range of textile goods are the main requirements of the modern day.

"However, the fulfillment of the industry's capacities is going ahead very slowly and this comes despite systematic support provided by the state for integrated development of the textile industry," Berdymukhamedov said.

The textile industry in Turkmenistan is developing on the basis of an increase in domestic cotton wool processing. The country traditionally grows cotton, which is the main basis for developing the country' textile industry. The annual turnover of Turkmenistan's textile industry is about $400 million.

In 2013, some 74 companies were active in this field. They included 32 textile complexes, cotton spinning and weaving factories, 17 garment factories, seven silk industry enterprises, two wool processing and three knitted goods enterprises.

Turkmenistan allocated over $1.6 billion for construction of dozens of textile enterprises in the years of independence. This helped increase the processing of domestically produced cotton up to 51 percent.

Most of the products are sent to the US, Canada, Germany, Britain, Russia, Italy, Turkey, China, and Ukraine. Companies such as Puma, Bershka, Nautika, Sara Lee, Casual Wear, Wal-Mart, Miss Erica, Vespolino, JC Penney and others are among the customers of Turkmenistan's finished goods.

Today, Turkmenistan is capable of annually producing 177,000 tons of different yarn, 186 million square meters of various cotton fabrics, 11,000 tons of various kinds of knitted fabrics, 7,200 tons of terry fabrics and 80 million pieces of knitwear and garments.

Turkmenistan has recently commissioned the largest cotton-spinning factories in Turkmenabat, Dashoguz, Geoktepe, and a textile complex in the Rukhabat district of Ashgabat.