Azerbaijan exported 95.9 thousand tons of cotton fiber in the first seven months of 2026. During the same period last year, this figure stood at 72.7 thousand tons. As a result, cotton fiber exports increased by 31.9 percent, or 23.2 thousand tons, over the year.
The value of exports also increased by 26.2 percent, from $108.1 million to $136.4 million. At the same time, the average export price of one ton of cotton fiber fell from $1,486 to $1,422. These figures are particularly important for understanding the nature of the increase in cotton exports.
Azerbaijan sold more cotton even though the average export price of cotton declined. This means that the main source of export growth was not the price, but the increase in the physical volume of the product. In other words, cotton exports recorded real growth.
As an additional 23.2 thousand tons of product were sold on foreign markets, export revenues also increased by $28.3 million despite the decline in prices. Cotton exports account for approximately 3 percent of Azerbaijan’s total non-oil exports. Azerbaijan’s non-oil sector exports amounted to $5.9 billion in January-July 2026, while cotton fiber and yarn accounted for approximately $167 million of this total.
These figures may appear relatively small at first sight, but the importance of cotton production for Azerbaijan is much greater and cannot be measured simply by its share of non-oil exports. One of the main reasons the government has continued to focus on cotton production in recent years is precisely the broader economic importance of the sector. As we know, a significant share of Azerbaijan’s population lives in rural areas.
According to the State Statistical Committee, as of July 1, 2026, 45.7 percent of the country’s population, or approximately 4.7 million people, lived in rural areas. The share of the urban population was 54.3 percent. The fact that such a large part of the population lives in rural areas makes increasing economic activity and employment in the regions an important issue for Azerbaijan.
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