Business
World Bee Day: Depending on the survival of bees
The UN General Assembly has designated May 20 as World Bee Day to raise awareness of the importance of bees, support for beekeeping and the effects of bee pollination on sustainable development of agriculture and food supply.
According to the UN, bees are under threat. Present species extinction rates are 100 to 1,000 times higher than normal due to human impacts.
Close to 35 percent of invertebrate pollinators, particularly bees and butterflies, and about 17 percent of vertebrate pollinators, such as bats, face extinction globally.
If this trend continues, nutritious crops, such as fruits, nuts and many vegetable crops will be substituted increasingly by staple crops like rice, corn and potatoes, eventually resulting in an imbalanced diet.
But government, farmers and ordinary citizens can play their part to make sure bees do not become extinct.
Individually people can plant a diverse set of native plants, which flower at different times of the year; buying raw honey from local farmers; buying products from sustainable agricultural practices; avoiding pesticides, fungicides or herbicides in our gardens; protect wild bee colonies when possible; make a bee water fountain by leaving a water bowl outside; and raising awareness by sharing this information within our communities and networks.
Beekeepers and farmers can also help by reducing, or changing the usage of pesticides; diversifying crops as much as possible, and/or planting attractive crops around the field.
Governments in turn can strengthen the participation of local communities in decision-making, in particular that of indigenous people, who know and respect ecosystems and biodiversity; enforcing strategic measures, including monetary incentives to help change; increasing collaboration between national and international organizations, organizations and academic and research networks to monitor and evaluate pollination services.
The number of beekeepers have meanwhile grown in Afghanistan over the past few years and today local honey production exceeds the two metric ton mark.
Akbar Rustami, director of information and spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), said recently that honey production reached 2,490 metric tons in Afghanistan last solar year.
According to Rustami, Paktia topped the list with 899 tons of honey, followed by Nangarhar with 500 tons and Khost with 416 tons, which are the most important honey producers in the country. Herat, Laghman, Badakhshan, Kunduz and Bamyan are also on the list of major honey producing provinces.
Rustami said recently that there are currently 6,757 large and small beekeeping farms across the country, most of them in Badghis, Herat, Badakhshan, Paktia, Kunduz, Daikundi, Bamyan, Logar, Sar-e-Pul, Farah, Maidan Wardak, Kapisa, Takhar, Baghlan and Khost provinces.
Rustami said that Badghis with 722, Herat with 593, Paktia with 550 and Badakhshan with 526 beekeeping farms are at the top of the beekeeping table.
Beekeeping is growing as a lucrative business and its products have a good domestic and foreign market.
One kilo of pure honey is sold in the domestic market from 500 to two thousand afghanis, depending on its type.
Meanwhile, the amount of honey production in 1398 had reached two thousand and one hundred tons, and this figure has increased by 390 tons in the past year.
Kazakhstan has signed a major zinc ore supply agreement with an Afghan company as the two countries continue to expand economic cooperation and trade ties.
According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Trade and Integration, the contract was signed between Kazakhstan’s ShalkiyaZinc and Afghanistan’s Afghan German Bakhtar Company during the opening of the Kazakhstan Trade House in Kabul.
The signing took place as part of an official business mission led by Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy, Serik Zhumangarin.
Under the agreement, Afghan German Bakhtar Company will supply approximately 30,000 tons of zinc ore annually on DAP (Delivered at Place) terms. The ore will be used as raw material for the production facilities of Kazakhstan’s Kazzinc. The total value of the contract is estimated at $18.88 million.
The deal marks a significant step in diversifying trade relations between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan, moving beyond traditional agricultural exports into the mining and industrial sectors.
“Afghanistan today is a market of opportunities,” said Kanat Kudaibergen, Chairman of the Board of GWM Capital LTD. He noted that while Kazakhstan’s exports to Afghanistan have historically consisted mainly of flour, grain, sunflower oil, and other agricultural products, demand is increasingly growing for machinery, equipment, and service solutions in agriculture, construction, and mining.
Kudaibergen expressed confidence that the newly established Trade House in Kabul would serve as an important platform for developing new business projects and expanding Kazakhstan’s non-resource exports.
The agreement follows recent discussions between Kazakh officials and Afghanistan’s leadership, including Prime Minister Mohammad Hasan Akhund and Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar, during which Kazakhstan expressed interest in sourcing zinc ore from Afghanistan.
Preparations for the deal began last year when specialists from Tau-Ken Samruk visited Afghanistan’s Bamyan province to assess the Pami-Kakrak zinc deposit. Samples collected during the visit were later analyzed by Kazzinc, which confirmed the feasibility of processing the ore at Kazakh facilities.
Economic relations between the two countries have been steadily strengthening. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of National Economy reported that bilateral trade reached $541.8 million in 2025. Both governments have set an ambitious target of increasing annual trade turnover to $3 billion in the coming years.
Business
Afghanistan officials call for investment during Indian expo visit
The event brought together officials and business representatives from more than 80 countries, showcasing agricultural, industrial, and construction products across 350 exhibition booths.
Sayed Karim Hashemi, Chairman of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI), has traveled to India to participate in the Bharat Buildcon International Exhibition, one of the country’s largest construction and infrastructure expos.
The event brought together officials and business representatives from more than 80 countries, showcasing agricultural, industrial, and construction products across 350 exhibition booths.
On the sidelines of the exhibition, Hashemi held meetings with Indian and international investors, business leaders, and private sector representatives to discuss expanding economic cooperation and investment opportunities in Afghanistan.
He highlighted Afghanistan’s vast reserves of construction raw materials and mineral resources, encouraging Indian and international companies to invest in the country’s mining, construction, and manufacturing sectors.
Accompanied by Afghanistan’s Ambassador to India, Noor Ahmad Noor, and Health Attaché Sayed Emad Hashemi, the ACCI chairman also visited the booths of several leading global companies.
During his visit, Hashemi toured a major traditional medicine manufacturer and emphasized the importance of expanding bilateral trade in medicinal herbs and agricultural products between Afghanistan and India.
He noted that growing demand for construction materials, combined with Afghanistan’s abundant natural resources, positions the country as an attractive destination for foreign investment, particularly from Indian companies.
A total of 25 cooperation memorandums of understanding (MoUs) have been signed between private sector representatives of Afghanistan and Kazakhstan following the Afghan–Kazakh Forum, which brought together an exhibition of products from both countries and a series of business-to-business meetings.
According to officials, the agreements cover a wide range of trade and economic sectors, including the import and export of pharmaceuticals, fresh and dried fruits, vegetables, banking services, as well as staple commodities such as wheat, flour, oil, and potatoes.
The signing of the agreements took place during the visit of a high-level Kazakh delegation to Kabul, led by the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin.
The forum is seen as part of broader efforts to strengthen economic cooperation and expand trade ties between the private sectors of the two countries.
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