Turkmenistan’s textile sector has recorded a growth rate of 105.4 percent in the first four months of 2013, Trend.az reported quoting Turkmen Government data. From January to April, Turkmenistan textile industry registered sales growth rate of 102.6 percent, while the sector’s profitability grew by 13.4 percent, the report said. Turkmenistan spent over US$ 1.65 billion for reforming and upgrading the existing textile units during the years since Independence. Of which, about 18 percent or US$ 300 million came as foreign investment. In Turkmenistan, cotton is sown on about 550,000 hectares of area. Last year, cotton production grew by 12.6 percent year-on-year to 1.235 million tons. A greater amount of the domestically cultivated cotton feeds the country’s textile industry. The increase in textile production is due to the Ruhabat textile complex that became operational in December 2012. The first of its kind enterprise in CIS region has annual production capacity of 20.3 million sq m of gray fabric and 40 million sq m of premium dyed fabric. In addition, the second part of the Abadan cotton mill, considered one of the biggest pneumo-spinning technology based high-tech textile industries in Central Asia, was commissioned last year. The US$ 22.7 million facility with European equipment has annual capacity to produce 4,872 tons of combed and 275 tons of ring-spun yarn.