tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858950.post113049738778714643..comments2023-05-31T14:16:36.022+03:00Comments on Otto's Random Thoughts: More on Cotton in Central AsiaJ. Otto Pohlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07457089758142264049noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858950.post-1130630243931720022005-10-30T02:57:00.000+03:002005-10-30T02:57:00.000+03:00Siel, Thanks for stopping by. Under Soviet rule, M...Siel, <BR/><BR/>Thanks for stopping by. Under Soviet rule, Moscow subsidized the region at a loss. It also geared the region, particularly Uzbekistan, towards the production of cotton. They produced cotton for the USSR and export and little else. In exchange they got fuel, food, finished goods and almost everything else. The value of these inputs exceeded the worth of the cotton. When the USSR collapsed these subsidies ended. <BR/><BR/>The loss of Soviet subsidies and protected internal market led to a decline in production of about 30%. For instance Moscow used to provide Uzbekistan with much of its grain. The loss of this support has meant that Uzbekistan has had to acquire food from elsewhere. The Uzbek government dealt with this food deficit by switching land from cotton to the cultivation of wheat. Uzbekistan now exports wheat. <BR/><BR/>Another reason was the discentive to produce more cotton by the heavy indirect taxes imposed. Cut off from Moscow's subsidies, the export of cotton became the Uzbek regime's main source of income. It purchases cotton from farmers at a price far below market price and sells it on the international market. It then pockets the difference. The artificially low price paid by the state is a a discentive for farmers to produce more than their minimum quotas.<BR/><BR/>I will post more on the reasons behind the post-Soviet decline in Central Asain cotton production later.J. Otto Pohlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07457089758142264049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7858950.post-1130578081163604162005-10-29T12:28:00.000+03:002005-10-29T12:28:00.000+03:00I'm wondering what the reasons are for this decrea...I'm wondering what the reasons are for this decreas in cotton production in Central Asia. I'll read more of the archives, but why is it that countries that were producing so much cotton are now being made to export labor?Sielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07113139469651305734noreply@blogger.com