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.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed on the issuance of a temporary admission document for transporters of commercial goods, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Transport and Aviation announced on Sunday.
The ministry said in an announcement that truck drivers and their assistants carrying commercial goods from Afghanistan and Pakistan must have this document with them at the crossings.
Based on the announcement, the document will be issued to Afghans at the Pakistani embassy in Kabul and its consulate in Kandahar.
For Pakistanis, the document is distributed at the office of the Afghanistan transport attaché in Peshawar and Quetta.
The Ministry of Transportation and Aviation asked owners and drivers of trucks to submit the required documents to their respective transportation companies by June 1.
The ministry warned that after June 1, trucks cannot travel between the two countries without having the temporary admission document.
Pakistani officials have announced that consultations are underway with stakeholders on preferential trade agreements with Afghanistan and Azerbaijan.
According to Dawn newspaper, the issue was announced on Friday in a meeting on trade chaired by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
In the meeting, the strict monitoring of Afghan Transit Trade was also emphasized.
Pakistani officials have not provided further details on preferential trade with Afghanistan and Azerbaijan.
Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi has said that talks with neighboring countries have started for the export of fresh fruit this year.
Azizi added that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce wants the country’s fresh fruit to be exported to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Iran in addition to Pakistan.
Members of the private sector call on the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to step up efforts to find new markets for Afghan exporters.
“We ask the authorities to determine the export routes before the harvesting season. We should find new markets instead of Pakistan. There is capacity for Afghanistan’s exports in the region, and action should be taken in this regard,” said Mirwais Hajizada, the deputy of Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock.
Economic experts say that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce should hold talks with Iran and Uzbekistan in addition to Pakistan for Afghanistan’s exports.
“There are many opportunities to sell our products in markets other than Pakistan. I hope the authorities will think about this. Grounds should be paved to access the markets of South Asia and the Gulf countries through Iran, and the markets of Central Asia through Uzbekistan,” said Mohammad Nabi Afghan, an economic expert.
Members of the private sector say that although Pakistan is the closest and largest market for Afghanistan’s dry and fresh fruits, doing business with it has always been challenging.
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