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.