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Private company officially starts extraction of chromite in Khost

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(Last Updated On: May 8, 2023)

The Department of Mines and Petroleum of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has announced the start of chromite mining in Khost province, in the Tani district.

Mohammad Sadiq Hamza, head of mines and petroleum in Khost, told the media on Sunday that work to extract chromite has started after a local company was given a five-year contract.

Hamzah said over this five-year period, 21,000 tons of chromite ore will be extracted.

He said government will get 215 million afghanis from the proceeds.

“One ton of it (chromite) has been set at 10,000 afghanis, and in total, 21,500 tons of chromite will be extracted from this mine in the course of five years, and the revenue of 215 million afghanis will be gained,” said Hamza.

The ministry of mines said recently that an assessment of 650 mines had been carried out and that contracts would be awarded to local and foreign companies to start mining operations.

Mining companies have meanwhile said that the emerging process around mining in the country is an improvement as in the past, minerals were extracted illegally and money went into the pockets of individuals. Now however, the sector is being standardized and regulated and contracts are awarded to companies in a transparent and fair way.

Abdul Latif Wahedi, the operations manager of Nefrait Sharq, the company that won the contract for the chromite mine, said: “These contracts are now given to the companies in a transparent manner, and you can see that now every mine in different provinces is extracted in a standardized way, and with this, the government’s income will increase on the one hand, and on the other hand, job opportunities will be provided.”

Khost provincial officials meanwhile said that another two mines will also start up in the near future.

Mawlavi Mohammad Anwar Din Parwar, deputy governor of Khost, said that “in the coming days, you will witness the opening of two more mines in Khost province.”

Chromite is the only source of chromium and is used in the steel industry.

Business

Five-day expo in Herat of domestic products draws good response

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(Last Updated On: May 30, 2023)

Herat Chamber of Industries and Mines says a five-day expo of domestically manufactured goods has drawn over 20,000 visitors and that business owners have signed dozens of contracts with investors and traders from other provinces.

“The booths were very good, the facilities were very good, people had all visited, participated from Herat and other provinces, and many of the contracts were signed at this expo,” said Toryali Ghousi, deputy of Herat Chamber of Industries and Mines.

Officials also said that the factory owners have displayed their products in 120 booths.

Dairy and other consumable products along with plastic goods, medicines and home appliances were among the items showcased at this expo.

Business owners have welcomed initiatives to hold expos and say more are needed so as to encourage people to buy domestic products.

“If these expos are always held and people come to see the domestic products, Inshallah, we will be able to stop the goods coming from abroad and move towards self-sufficiency,” said one business owner.

“Most of the people are not aware of domestic products and when expos are held, they become aware of domestic products,” said another participant.

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Process of exporting fresh fruit to world markets kicks off: MoIC

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(Last Updated On: May 29, 2023)

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC) says the process of exporting fresh fruit to world markets has started.

The ministry’s spokesman Abdul Salam Jawad said that they are trying to market the country’s fresh fruits in order to export them at a reasonable price.

“Fortunately, we were able to export 20 tons of cherries to Kazakhstan, and our other fresh fruit is black cherry, which are ripe and almost ready to package, and we will export them to the United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan,” he said.

The Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock also said that when problems with the issuing of visas by countries to Afghan businessmen are resolved, they can export more products.

“We have invested in the packaging and in the cold storage areas, and we have the ability to adjust and export this packaging to Europe and America based on global standards,” said Omid Haidari, head of foreign relations of the Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock.

“Unfortunately, due to the lack of air corridors and subsidies from the Ministry of Agriculture, we indirectly export fruits to India and Pakistan, and later Indian and Pakistani businessmen buy from us and export to Europe,” he added. 

However, a number of investors say that if the country’s fresh fruit is not marketed, farmers and businessmen will face losses.

“Seven kilos of our watermelons are sold for fifty afghanis, seven kilos of our watermelons from Farah to here [Kabul] cost forty afghanis as fare; the farmer is really very poor,” said a trader. 

According to experts, if fresh fruit and other products of Afghanistan are regularly exported, the country’s national income will increase.

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Over 3,600 boxes of silkworms distributed to Herat farmers this year

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(Last Updated On: May 29, 2023)

Herat Directorate of Agriculture and Livestock says more than 3,500 boxes of silkworms have been distributed to farmers this year in Zinda Jan, Injil, Guzara and Pashtun Zarghun districts of the province.

This directorate has said that 80 percent of silk work is done in Zinda Jan district.

“We were able to grow about 3,600 boxes with the help of institutions, about 80 percent of which we have grown in Zinda Jan district,” said Khalil Ahmad, general director of Herat agriculture directorate.

“About 20 percent of silkworms have been grown in Injil, Guzara and Pashtun Zarghun districts, which has had good results and the financial status of the farmers has improved.”

The local officials said most work in the silk industry is done by women.

“Almost 60 percent of the silk industry is done by women,” said Ahmad Shah Qawami, head of the silk workers’ union for Zinda Jan district.

This year, the families who are engaged in raising silkworms hope to have good production, now that the silk season is over and many are working to separate the silk thread.

However, the farmers are not satisfied with this year’s market conditions.

“The silk market is weak this year, it was good last year, it was very advanced,” said a silk worker.

The silk industry in Herat has a history dating back 600 years, and many families have preserved this ancient profession.

Silkworms usually feed on the leaves of mulberry trees, which grow in these regions. The industry also provides a livelihood to hundreds of men and women in the area.

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