The Russian textile industry depends on Central Asian countries for more than 90 percent of its raw cotton supply. A shortage of hard currency to buy cotton from its traditional suppliers has reduced fabric production in Russia to only 20 to 25 percent of capacity. Furthermore, the Russian market is being flooded by fabrics from Syria, China, and South Korea. The shortage of raw cotton is an expecially serious problem in regions where the textile industry is the major empolyer and provides funds for social and economic development.