Business
Herat producing 90 percent of Afghanistan’s saffron: officials
Bashir Ahmad Ahmadi, acting head of Herat’s agriculture department, on Thursday said during a visit to the 6th Saffron Flower Festival in Herat that the province now produces 90 percent of the country’s award-winning saffron.
“Eight thousand hectares of land in Herat is under saffron cultivation, which has created employment for families in the province,” Ahmadi said.
According to Ahmadi, Herat, as the saffron center of the country, has been able to introduce this plant not only as an alternative crop but also as a strategic economic and employment plant.
Herat officials said 42 associations and more than 53 companies are active in the production and processing of saffron, and 20,000 families work in the saffron sector – a sector that has been key to creating jobs in the province.
On the other hand, Bashir Ahmad Rashidi, head of the Saffron Workers’ Union of Afghanistan, expressed satisfaction with the growth of this international commodity in the country and the involvement of farmers. He called for cooperation of local officials and relevant institutions in controlling and monitoring saffron exports.
Rashidi says that currently one kilogram of pure saffron is sold on the Herat market, for between 30,000 Afghanis and 40,000.
Meanwhile, a number of saffron growers who have displayed their saffron flowers at the festival expressed their enthusiasm over the growing industry in the province.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said Thursday it has signed cooperation agreements with ten institutions to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, said: “In the implementation of projects, we must pay special attention to our activities and actions and try to make useful use of the projects according to the requirements and benefit the beneficiaries.”
These ten institutions are to present their projects, the total value of which is around over $1.1 million. The projects will be carried out in Kabul, Baghlan, Ghor, Herat, Logar, Nangarhar, Balkh, Badakhshan and Jawzjan provinces and provide direct jobs for about 1,000.
To date, the ministry has signed MoUs for 72 projects in total, collectively valued at about $53.6 million.
These agreements have been signed with domestic and foreign companies for the establishment of small and medium-sized businesses.
In accordance with the principles and laws of the Islamic Emirate and prioritizing the implementation of projects for immigrants and returnees and internally displaced people, the ministry said 635,865 people will benefit through jobs directly and over 4.3 million will benefit indirectly in 25 provinces once these projects are implemented.
The National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) confirmed Tuesday that in the last month of solar year 1402, (March 2024) Afghanistan’s exports totaled $141.1 million and imports totaled $789.6 million.
This was down from $174 million for exports in the same period in 1401. However, imports increased by $99.2 million in 1402, up from $690.4 million.
Most exports in the last month of 1402 went to Pakistan, India and the United Arab Emirates, while in the last month of 1401 exports went to Pakistan, India and China.
The Ministry of Interior said the governor of Herat province Islam Jar met with Alim Khan Yasin Gildaye, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Afghanistan, to discuss various issues around trade.
According to the ministry, the two sides discussed the expansion of trade facilities, increasing the volume of trade exchanges between traders of the two countries, reducing customs tariffs, solving the challenges of traders and issuing visas to them.
The Afghanistan-Kazakhstan Chamber of Commerce has been opened in Herat in order to facilitate and increase trade between the two countries.
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