Business

Saffron sector suffering as 50% of exporters close down

Published

2 years ago

September 21, 2022

(Last Updated On: September 21, 2022)

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.

Related Topics:#َAfghanistan Agriculture featured Saffron

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Acting commerce minister meets Russian deputy PM

Published

1 day ago

May 17, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: May 17, 2024)

Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, met with Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk to discuss trade and investment, it was announced on Friday.

Sergey Pavlov, General Director of Russian Railways, and Dmitry Zverev, Deputy Minister of Transport of Russia, were also present in the meeting, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said in a statement.

According to the statement, the two sides discussed increasing the volume of trade, preferential tariff for Afghan goods, Russian investment in mines and water dams in Afghanistan, and Afghanistan’s role in the International North–South Transport Corridor.

They also discussed about reducing the cost of transportation through the Russian railway, removing the export tax on basic materials, arranging the trip of the delegation to the ports of Astrakhan and Makhachkala, and holding a trade connectivity conference and an expo of Afghan products in Moscow.

Azizi met with the Russian deputy PM on the sidelines of the Kazan Forum – the 15th International Economic Forum of Russia and the Islamic World.

He also met with representatives of a number of Tatarstan and Russia companies and encouraged them to invest in Afghanistan.

Business

Azizi meets with head of Tatarstan on sidelines of Kazan Forum

Published

3 days ago

May 16, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: May 16, 2024)

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said Thursday acting minister Nooruddin Azizi met with the leader of Russia’s autonomous republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Nurgaliyevich Minnikhanov, on the sidelines of a meeting in Kazan.

According to the ministry, Azizi met with Minnikhanov on the sidelines of the Kazan Forum – the 15th International Economic Forum of Russia and the Islamic World.

The two officials discussed bilateral trade relations, the establishment of the Russian Trade House in Afghanistan, the visit of Minnikhanov to Kabul, investment in electricity production, water transfer, mining, cultural and economic cooperation and other matters.

This annual meeting is held by Russia and the 14th round of this meeting was also held in the same country last year.

The main goal of the forum is to strengthen trade and economic, scientific and technical, social and cultural ties between Russian regions and the countries of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as well as to promote the development of the Islamic financial system institutions in Russia.

Business

Afghanistan’s imports and exports totaled $10.3 billion last year

Published

4 days ago

May 15, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: May 15, 2024)

The National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) said on Wednesday that last year, the value of exports totaled $1.79 billion while imports totaled $8.57 billion.

According to NSIA, fruits accounted for the largest share of export items last year, totaling over $645 million.

Medicinal plants, minerals and vegetables were the next top three items respectively to be exported.

Meanwhile, petroleum and oil accounted for the largest portion of imported goods, totaling over $1.37 billion.

Another large portion of the total amount imported went to machinery, vehicles and parts. This totaled over $1.15 billion, followed by textiles, metals and metal products.