Total shipments from the world’s second-largest cotton exporter for the marketing year ending 31 July will likely fall to around 700,000 metric tonnes, while domestic consumption is estimated at 290,000 tonnes, Nasriddin Najimov said at a cotton industry conference in China.

Uzbekistan has contracted 590,000 tonnes of exports for the marketing year thus far, and has shipped 500,000 tonnes, according to the script of the minister’s speech posted on the Web site of China Cotton Association.

Uzbekistan exported 4.2 million bales of cotton in 2007-08 marketing year, according to US Agriculture Department attache report. One bale is equal to 217.7 kilograms.