Afghanistan buys 120,000 tons of rice annually

Afghanistan Chamber Commerce and Industry says that Afghanistan buys close to $ 180 million worth of rice every year from 15 countries of the world.

Officials in Chamber of Commerce criticized the ministry of agriculture, saying a lot of money would remain in the country if seeds were provided for Afghan formers.

Afghanistan is an agriculture country which purchases 120,000 tons of rice annually that costs $ 180 million.

“If the ministry of agriculture provided improved seeds for Afghan traders and farmers, now we would not spend that much money for buying rice. The ministry must solve this problem as soon as possible,” Mir Zaman Popal, head of Chamber of Commerce and Industry said.

But the ministry of agriculture claims that efforts are underway to modernize the agriculture system.

Officials in the ministry of agriculture say that currently 220 thousand hectares of land cultivate rice in the country.

“We have produced around 537 thousand tons of rice last year and the process of improving the quality of products is continuing,” Lutfullah Rashid, spokesman of agriculture ministry said.

According to the ministry of agriculture, rice cultivates in nineteen provinces of the country and efforts are ongoing for self-sufficiency of Afghanistan in rice production.