State-imposed cocoon production quotas, coercive contracting practices and delayed payments are forcing farmers and home-based producers of silkworm cocoons to bear the costs associated with the expansion of Uzbekistan’s sericulture industry.
“Dear farmers, has anyone received payment for the cocoons delivered in 2026? If so, how much?”
Questions like this regularly appear in dedicated Telegram channels used by farmers and other agricultural producers in Uzbekistan.
Several months after the 2026 cocoon harvest, many farmers and home-based producers say they are still waiting to be paid. Most appear unaware that the contracts they signed stipulate that final payment is not due until December 31, 2026.
In recent years, Uzbek Forum for Human Rights has monitored labor rights in Uzbekistan’s silk sector. In interviews, farmers told Uzbek Forum for Human Rights that they are often pressured into signing blank or incomplete contracts without being given the opportunity to read them and rarely receive copies of the contracts.
Uzbekistan is the world’s third-largest producer of silkworm cocoons after China and India and is seeking to expand its sericulture sector. Testimonies from farmers and home-based cocoon producers indicate that a significant part of the sector continues to operate through state-imposed production quotas, administrative pressure and contracts that producers are unable to refuse or negotiate.
A recent video report by Ozodlik, the Uzbek service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), documented allegations that farmers in several regions were required to make payments this summer to have production quotas imposed by local hokimiyats recorded as fulfilled.
The testimonies collected by Ozodlik point to a recurring pattern. At the beginning of each season, local authorities pressure farmers into signing contracts with district silk clusters, private companies that process cocoons. The forms are often left blank or only partially completed. Farmers who subsequently fail to meet their assigned quotas are reportedly instructed either to buy cocoons from other producers or to pay cash for every kilogram of the shortfall.
Farmers forced to pay for production shortfalls
Under pressure, farmers prefer to pay up rather than face problems with the local authorities. Once they have paid, their quotas are recorded as fulfilled and they are released from cocoon production obligations until the following year. According to farmers’ testimonies recorded by Ozodlik, district officials are falsifying cocoon production targets in exchange for payments from farmers, which some describe as a form of bribery.
A farmer from Jalaquduq district in Andijan region told Ozodlik that at the beginning of 2026, farmers were forced to sign four copies of a contract with the local silk cluster. When the cocoon delivery season began, the authorities required farmers either to deliver the assigned amount or pay 20,000 UZS for every kilo of the shortfall.
The requirement imposed by local authorities to make cash payments appears to be a widespread practice. In a June 2026 interview with the Uzbek Forum, farmers from Oltinkul district of the Andijan region similarly reported that they had been instructed by the hokimiyat to pay 20,000 UZS at the “cocoon collection point” for each kilo of their assigned quota they fell short of.
According to the farmer, the hokim of Jalaquduq district personally summoned farmers to his office, where they were required to make the payments.
“For example, if a farmer was required to deliver 500 kilos but produced only 200, the shortfall would be 300 kilos. To have the quota recorded as fully met, the farmer paid six million UZS (approximately $500). The reports would then state that the farmer had delivered 500 kilograms, although the documents showed that only 200 kilos had actually been delivered,” said the farmer, who asked Ozodlik not to disclose his name.
The farmer alleged that district officials profited from the difference between the assigned quota and the amount of cocoons actually produced.
Ozodlik published a screenshot of a message reportedly sent by the Jalaquduq district hokimiyat to subdistrict officials. It instructed them to bring farmers who had failed to deliver their assigned quantity of cocoons to a meeting with the district hokim and his deputy at 6 p.m. The message stated that the regional quota had already been fulfilled while Jalaquduq district was still falling behind.
Fakhriddin Abdurakhimov, the head of a farm in the same district, told Ozodlik that most of his silkworms had died by the third stage of the rearing process. He said that he had called an agronomist and other specialists, but they had been unable to determine the cause.
Abdurakhimov believes that the silkworm eggs supplied to farmers were of poor quality and unsuitable for local conditions.
“The silkworms died not only on my farm but on other farms as well. We documented this through photographs and video recordings. It was not caused by a failure to follow the required procedures. I signed a contract to produce 120 kilos of cocoons and delivered 33 kilos. Now I am being required to pay 20,000 UZS for every kilo missing from the quota.”
According to Abdurakhimov, he had raised the silkworms in the guest room of his home and even the income from ten boxes of silkworms would not cover the subsequent cost of repairing the room.
Advances in the form of silkworm eggs and other inputs used to justify cash collection
In an interview with Ozodlik, Oybek Pirmatov, head of the “Harir Tola” silk processing enterprise in Jalaquduq, sought to justify the collection of money from farmers. He said that under a presidential decree, responsibility for overseeing cocoon production had been assigned to local hokims.
According to Pirmatov, silk enterprises provide farmers with advances, silkworm eggs, paper and other materials at the beginning of the season. Farmers who accept these materials but fail to deliver the agreed quantity of cocoons are therefore required to repay the advance. He added that his private enterprise had taken out a bank loan and was seeking to recover the advances paid to farmers.
However, according to the farmers’ testimonies, the amounts demanded from them were calculated according to the number of kilos missing from their production quotas rather than the value of the advances or materials they had received.
Farmers allege that local officials use their administrative authority to enforce the commercial interests of private silk enterprises and transfer the financial risks of cocoon production to farmers, including losses caused by defective silkworm eggs.
Falsified figures raise doubts about official production data
On June 9, the Jalaquduq district administration announced on its official Telegram channel that the district had fulfilled 100,1% of its 275 ton cocoon production target.
District farmers interviewed by Ozodlik questioned whether this figure included cocoons that had never been produced. Documents shown in the report indicated that as of June 4, most farms in the district had not delivered a single kilo of cocoons. Nevertheless, only five days later, the district authorities announced that the target had been fully met.
“On June 4, the hokim held a meeting and demanded 20,000 UZS ($1,7) for every kilo missing from each farmer’s quota,” one farmer told Ozodlik. “Initially, farmers received an advance of 300,000 UZS ($25,5) for each box of silkworms. By now, they have already paid back three times that amount – 1.2 million UZS (approximately $100). If an independent commission investigated, it would uncover the falsification of cocoon production figures and the extortion of money from farmers. Let the president send such a commission, and we will provide all the evidence.”
According to Ozodlik, neither the district hokim nor his press secretary responded to the outlet’s telephone calls.
Farmers from other regions described similar practices
An anonymous farmer from Dustlik district in Jizzakh region told Ozodlik that in February farmers had been ordered to stamp blank contracts with a silk cluster using their farm’s seals. They were not provided with copies of the completed contracts.
According to the farmer, most of them did not produce silkworms themselves and were subsequently required to pay 25,000 UZS ($2,1) for every kilo of their assigned quotas they fell short of.
“A farmer with 50 hectares of land was assigned a quota of 175 kilos. He paid 4,375,000 UZS (approximately $360).” (to avoid producing cacoons).
Another farmer from Guzar district in Kashkadarya region told Ozodlik that he had “fulfilled” his 200-kilo quota by purchasing cocoons from other producers at a price of 75,000 UZS ($6,4) per kilo.
These accounts are consistent with messages posted during the cocoon harvest in Telegram channels used by farmers. During the cocoon harvest period, these channels were filled with requests from farmers looking for cocoons to purchase to meet the quotas imposed on them.
While farmers are required to buy cocoons or pay for production shortfalls, the home-based producers who raise silkworm cocoons also report having to wait months, and in some cases years, for payment.
Many of these producers agree to produce cocoons in exchange for access to a small plot of land. The work is extremely demanding. Silkworms must be fed fresh mulberry leaves several times a day, and producers often use rooms in their own homes for the cultivation process.
Farhod Temirtirnoq from Furkat district in Fergana region told Ozodlik:
“People spend their time and energy producing and delivering cocoons, but they are told that payment will be transferred to their bank cards later. They would be better off going to the daily labor market and earning 300,000 UZS (approximately $25) a day. Cocoon producers get up at four in the morning, collect mulberry branches until evening and crawl on their knees to pick up silkworms that have fallen onto the floor. Even the single month of employment that is credited to their pensions for this work does not justify all this effort.”
A farmer named Farrukh from Baliqchi district said that he had received five boxes of silkworms in 2026. Most of the silkworms died, which he attributed to the poor quality of the eggs. Despite this, he said that through intensive labor he had managed to produce and deliver 250 kilos of cocoons, but had not been paid.
“We contacted the cluster and were told that payment for the cocoons had been withheld because we had not fulfilled the quota. Is this fair? A worker cannot be denied payment for his hard labor.”
Uzbekistan has a centuries-old tradition of silk production, and the government’s efforts to develop this traditional industry are legitimate. However, as long as the sector remains dominated by imposed production quotas, coercion, and extortion, these abuses will leave a toxic stain on Uzbek silk and undermine its reputation in international markets.
Source: Uzbek Forum
