Business
New pine nut plant will boost Paktia economy and provide 1,000 jobs
For many Paktia residents struggling to earn a living, the new Rahim Gardezi pine nut processing plant will bring much relief.
According to provincial officials, 90 percent of construction work is complete and the plant will soon be officially opened.
Naser Alam Yar, Paktia Chamber of Commerce’s chief, says the factory will employ 1,000 people and process about 60,000 tonnes of pine nuts a year.
For local residents this is good news – especially after agriculture officials in the southeastern province said recently that this year’s pine nut harvest totalled around 13,000 tons — up about 1,000 tons compared to last year.
Bahadur Mangal, a pine nut trader in Paktia province, told Pajhwok Afghan News that modern agriculture methods still need to be introduced in order for farmers to increase their harvests.
He said however that pine nut harvesting was an important source of income for hundreds of people in the province but that yields could increase if plantations were expanded.
About two years ago President Ashraf Ghani pledged to help turn Paktia’s economy around by starting up a pine nut processing factory and launching other viable projects.
However, residents have said they are still waiting for economic development projects to be launched 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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