Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the two organisations commit to support the alignment of national agricultural standards with international sustainability requirements.

The agency, responsible for regulatory oversight of locally produced and imported goods, will receive technical expertise from BCI as Uzbekistan continues its broad reform of production standards.

According to BCI, the agreement will facilitate collaboration in working groups and the exchange of methodologies focused on best practice and certification at the field level.

The partnership also includes integrating BCI's Principles & Criteria into Uzbekistan's national standards for cotton production.

A potential outcome of the cooperation is the establishment of a nationally-owned cotton sustainability standard that could be benchmarked against BCI's global framework.

This approach would allow the agency and its partners to promote sustainable cotton production in a manner consistent with the internationally recognised BCI standard.

BCI Uzbekistan programme head Katerina Gorbunova said: "As a leading sustainability standards system and certification scheme working with farming communities around the world, BCI is uniquely positioned to support the agency in its mission. We are excited to share our knowledge and experience and learn from the organisation to collaboratively strengthen Uzbekistan's infrastructure."

Uzbekistan is one of the world's largest cotton producers and has recently undertaken reforms to eliminate forced and child labour in the sector.

The BCI began its Uzbekistan operations in 2022 after the International Labour Organization (ILO) determined the nation had eradicated systemic labour abuses in cotton production.

The new agreement follows additional reforms, including a 2025 government initiative to reimburse farms and producers for the cost of obtaining BCI certification.

This effort is managed by the Uzbekistan Light Industry Agency and is aimed at encouraging wider adoption of sustainable farming standards.

"BCI and Uzstandard partner to boost cotton standards in Uzbekistan" was originally created and published by Just Style, a GlobalData owned brand.