The Karimov regime earns over US$1 billion from cotton exports every year

Uzbekistan is the third largest exporter of cotton in the world. The Uzbek state acquires cotton by means of compulsory purchase before selling it on the world market at 85% of the commercial price.
 

The Uzbek regime forces tens of thousands of children to hand pick the cotton harvest. Up to 200,000 children work to harvest the cotton in Ferghana region alone

Due to underinvestment and a shortage of agricultural machinery, 90% of Uzbek cotton is harvested by hand. Much of this work is carried out by children, some of whom miss up to three months schooling each year while picking Uzbek cotton. The exact number and age of children involved is unrecorded, but estimates suggest figures of around 200,000. EJF has obtained footage of children as young as seven working in Uzbek cotton fields.
 

The official wage for a state cotton labourer stands at just US$6 dollars per month.

Chronic underpayment and lack of investment have left 4.9 million rural Uzbeks living in poverty; 75% of rural Uzbeks have no access to running water and less than 2% are connected to a central sewage system.
 

Uzbek irrigation has reduced the Aral Sea to just 15% of its former volume

Described by the UNEP as one of the most "staggering disasters of the Twentieth Century" Uzbekistan's chronic over-irrigation has virtually eradicated the Aral Sea. Since the expansion of Uzbek cotton production in 1960, the Aral has shrunk to just 15% of its former volume. All 24 native fish species have disappeared and the fishing industry no longer exists. An area of 40,000 km2 of the original sea floor is left exposed - equivalent to six million football pitches. This area of land takes the form of dry mud-flats contaminated with salt and pesticide residue.
 

Uzbek cotton production consumes over 20 billion cubic metres of water every year

In total, Uzbekistan's 1.47 million hectares under cotton consume over 20 billion m3 of water which is close to 20,000 litres for every kilo of cotton harvested, or in even simpler terms is the same as 6 pints of water are needed to produce a single cotton bud.
 

Two thirds of Uzbekistan's irrigated cropland has been damaged by over-irrigation

Decades of intensive cotton production and agricultural mismanagement now threaten the long term fertility of Uzbekistan's 4.3 million hectares of irrigated farmland. 64% of irrigated land has been adversely affected by increasing soil salinity; 19% is threatened by water erosion; and 12% has reportedly already been abandoned due to failing soil fertility. At the present rate, a further 20,000 hectares of irrigated land could be lost each year.
 

Karakalpak communities show rates of DNA damage 3.5 times higher than normal

Those hardest hit by the environmental consequences of Uzbek cotton production are the ethnic Karakalpaks because their homeland lies directly south of the former Aral Sea. Dioxins and PCBs have been found throughout the food chain, in samples of treated water and breast milk. Rural communities show DNA mutation rates of up to 3.5 times higher than those seen in the USA. Five percent of children are born with abnormalities.
 

The Uzbek regime is supported by US$4.3 billion in international loans

Since independence, the Uzbek regime has benefited from substantial investment from International Financial Institutions. The World Bank estimates that Uzbekistan has outstanding debts of $4.3 billion. Given its economic significance, it is likely that much of this debt will be re-paid using funds derived from the sale of cotton.
 

Europe is the major destination for Uzbek cotton

According to the UN, the single biggest destination for Uzbek cotton is the European market.