Uzbekistan has signed contracts for the export in the 2007-2008 marketing year of 650,000 metric tonnes of cotton fiber from this year’s harvest, the foreign trade ministry announced Thursday.

There are 50 straight contracts with end-users totaling 600,000 tonnes and another 50,000 tonnes contracted for export at the Uzbek commodities exchange.

Contracts were signed with companies in China, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Bangladesh, South Korea and Russia.

Uzbekistan’s cotton fiber output this year is expected at between 1 million and 1.5 million tonnes, compared with 1.17 million tonnes last year, with between 700,000 and 750,000 tonnes going for export.