Business
Saffron exports to India surpass $19 million mark
Afghanistan’s saffron export to India topped $19.08 million last year, indicating an 80 percent increase over the past five years.
In 2019, Afghanistan exported $17.38 million worth of saffron to India.
In an effort to further promote Afghan saffron trade in India, the Afghanistan Commercial Attaché office in Mumbai, in association with USAID and the US Department of Commerce’s Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP), and Indian Chamber of International Business (ICIB) hosted the Afghan Saffron Promotion Virtual Conference on Wednesday.
“USAID, in collaboration with the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of Agriculture, is working with Afghan and Indian private and public sectors to increase saffron supply, reduce trade costs, and better serve Indian markets and consumers,” said USAID/Afghanistan Mission Director Tina Dooley-Jones.
“Together, we are working to improve farming techniques so Afghan farmers can sell more, high-quality saffron while adhering to important safety guidelines,” she said.
The event was attended by dignitaries from World Trade Center Mumbai, Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Afghanistan Women Chamber of Commerce and Industries, and Kabul and Herat Chambers of Commerce & Investment, the Afghan Embassy in India said in a statement.
Manpreet Singh, President of the Indian Chamber of International Business said: “The market opportunity in India for saffron and Afghanistan is wide open. I know that Afghan saffron is winning international quality and taste awards. The price is also right. The only problem is that consumers do not know this.”
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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