Business
Herat producing 90 percent of Afghanistan’s saffron: officials
Bashir Ahmad Ahmadi, acting head of Herat’s agriculture department, on Thursday said during a visit to the 6th Saffron Flower Festival in Herat that the province now produces 90 percent of the country’s award-winning saffron.
“Eight thousand hectares of land in Herat is under saffron cultivation, which has created employment for families in the province,” Ahmadi said.
According to Ahmadi, Herat, as the saffron center of the country, has been able to introduce this plant not only as an alternative crop but also as a strategic economic and employment plant.
Herat officials said 42 associations and more than 53 companies are active in the production and processing of saffron, and 20,000 families work in the saffron sector – a sector that has been key to creating jobs in the province.
On the other hand, Bashir Ahmad Rashidi, head of the Saffron Workers’ Union of Afghanistan, expressed satisfaction with the growth of this international commodity in the country and the involvement of farmers. He called for cooperation of local officials and relevant institutions in controlling and monitoring saffron exports.
Rashidi says that currently one kilogram of pure saffron is sold on the Herat market, for between 30,000 Afghanis and 40,000.
Meanwhile, a number of saffron growers who have displayed their saffron flowers at the festival expressed their enthusiasm over the growing industry in the province.
Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, met with representatives from the ministries of foreign affairs, defense and interior of Malaysia, along with other senior officials, on Wednesday and called on Malaysians to invest in Afghanistan.
The visiting delegation is being led by senior diplomat Dr. Shazelina Zainul Abidin.
According to the IEA’s foreign ministry, the two sides discussed bilateral trade, holding a business communication conference to strengthen trade relations between the two countries, the trade balance between Afghanistan and Malaysia, and creating a market for Afghan products, including carpets, cotton, and minerals.
According to the ministry, at the end of the meeting, the Acting Minister emphasized the increase of investment from regional countries in Afghanistan and called on Malaysian investors to also invest in Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Interior says that Afghanistan has started exporting goods to Turkey via the Herat-Khaf railway line.
In a post on X, the ministry said: “Afghanistan’s exports to Turkey started in a calm atmosphere through the Herat-Khaf railway line.”
The ministry added that one train will run daily for a month and then two trains will run daily.
According to the ministry, the security of Khaf-Herat railway line is provided by the guards of the National Public Protection Agency.
Khaf-Herat railway project not only connects Iran and Afghanistan by rail, but also completes a 2,000-kilometer route along the east-west rail corridor from China, through Uzbekistan, to Afghanistan, to Iran, and on to Turkey and Europe.
As a landlocked country, this railway network will provide a safe route to connect with Europe via Iran’s railway network and Iran’s southern ports.
This railway line is strategic for trade between Iran and Afghanistan and will allow six million tons of goods to be sent between the two countries.
A joint expo between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan will be held in Kabul in the next four days, officials said on Sunday.
Officials of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that the two-day expo will be held for the purpose of expanding and strengthening trade relations between the two countries.
“This expo will be held as a follow-up of the Kazakh-Afghan international expo, which was held in the city of Astana, Kazakhstan, with the participation of a large delegation of the government and the private sector of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” Abdulsalam Javad Akhundzadeh, the spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, said.
“At this expo, domestic products from different sectors of Afghanistan and the Republic of Kazakhstan will be put on display for two days.”
According to officials, 40 large Kazakh companies, and 40 large Afghan companies will exhibit their products.
Mohammad Saber Latifi, head of the Afghanistan International Expo Center, said that fruits, minerals and commercial services will be displayed at the expo.
During the expo, various memorandums of understanding for the trade of goods are also expected to be signed by companies.
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