Cotton production drops in Syria’s Hasakah due to extreme heatwaves
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – Farmers in Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria, reported on Monday a sharp decline in cotton production this season as severe heatwaves devastated crops.
Shahin Mohammed, a farmer from Hasakah’s countryside, said the average yield this year fell to 100–200 kilograms per acre, down from the usual 300–400 kilograms.
“The sharp rise in temperatures, which at times reached nearly 50 degrees Celsius, caused cotton flowers to fall before reaching maturity, leading to a significant drop in output,” Mohammed told North Press.
He voiced concern over looming financial losses, as farmers await the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) to announce the official purchase price for marketing the crop.
In August, Mustafa Ibrahim, co-chair of the General Cotton Corporation of the AANES, projected cotton production in northeastern Syria would reach 75,000 tons this year, according to a statement published on the Administration’s website.
This season, cotton was cultivated on about 250,000 acres of land across the region—roughly half the area planted last year. The AANES has opened three centers to receive the crop within its territory.