Cotton prices have tumbled by 31 percent since they hit a high in March 2011, which may impact cotton-dependent Central Asian economies.

The global price of cotton delivery fell by3.2 percent after the world’s largest cotton exporter, the United States, cancelled its ninth consecutive shipment, the Bloomberg financial news agency reported on Thursday.

“This certainly confirms that there is no demand right now,” Bloomberg quoted a risk management consultant at FCStone Fibers & Textiles as saying. “The themes of the last eight weeks are carrying on.”

Tajikistan and Uzbekistan receive a substantial portion of their revenue from their export of cotton.

Tajikistan must undertake measures to make sure their cotton exporters do not lose money, one financial expert told the Tajik news agency Avesta.tj.

The country should also look to process raw materials from within the country, instead of exporting raw materials out.

“The country has every reason and the technical capabilities to process the entire volume of cotton produced in the republic,” Sodiq Ismoilzoda told Avesta.tj.

“The power of our spinning and textile mills can process up to 100,000 tons of fiber per year.”