Uzbekistan produced 747,084 metric tonnes of cotton fiber in January-September, 2.1% less than in January-September 2006, the state statistics committee announced Wednesday.

The state-owned Uzkhlopkoprom association produced in January-September 741,626 tonnes of cotton fibre, 1.9% less than a year ago, while enterprises with foreign participation produced 5.458 tonnes, 21.6% less than in January-September 2006.

In 2006 Uzbekistan’s cotton harvest fell 3.2% on the year to 3.63 million tonnes and cotton fibre output fell 1.4% to 1.171 million tonnes.