Business
Saffron sector suffering as 50% of exporters close down
Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock officials said Wednesday that 50 percent of the saffron exporting companies in the country have stopped operating due to a number of reasons including the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic turmoil in Afghanistan.
Chamber officials have appealed to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock to take measures to help farmers cultivate saffron and grow the export sector.
The Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MoAIL) says that they have started the process of distributing saffron bulbs to farmers and that they are committed to supporting the sector.
Saffron is considered one of the most important agricultural products of the country, but in recent years, producers and exporters have faced many problems.
Industry experts said the pandemic had a huge impact on export volumes as did the political developments in the country.
According to the Agriculture and Livestock Chamber, although the country’s saffron is world famous, the situation is getting worse every day and half of the export companies have stopped operating.
“Our country’s saffron has a good name and good buyers in the international markets, and we hope that the sector ministries will pay serious attention to saffron,” said Mirwais Hajizada, the deputy of the Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock.
According to him, the number of active export companies in this sector was once 70, but now only 35 are still operational. Hundreds of people have also lost their jobs.
“Our problem is related to the last four years, and we are currently facing problems for export, and our production has also decreased. We must pay serious attention to this sector,” said Mohammad Naser Faizi, a member of the Saffron Exporters Association.
Ministry officials said they have expanded their efforts to develop the saffron sector and have started the process of distributing saffron bulbs to farmers in some provinces.
“We are trying to provide more facilities in the field of saffron cultivation, production and export so that we can have our customers in the international markets like before,” said Mawolavi Mesbahuddin Mustaeen, the ministry’s spokesperson.
Experts have said that with the ban on poppy farming, saffron could be a good alternative for these farmers.
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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