Who benefits from the institution of forced child labour?
The cotton sector in Uzbekistan is strictly managed by the central government in Tashkent. All procurement prices are determined by the central government. Cotton and grain planting is mandated on two-thirds of the best arable lands in Uzbekistan. Farmers have neither the right to choose which crops to plant, nor to whom they sell their harvest. As in Soviet times, the Uzbek government imposes cotton production quotas on all farmers and local governments. The local hokims (governors) are personally responsible for fulfilling these quotas. Farmers cannot trade cotton in the free market at market prices and instead are required to deliver crops to local government cotton gins. Farmers attempting to export produce to neighbouring countries are charged with smuggling and face fines and jail. Cotton is the Government of Uzbekistan’s primary export commodity and main source of revenue. While three trading companies created at the Ministry of Foreign Economic Affairs trade cotton on world mar
