|
Afghanistan Almost Triples Raisin Exports in a Year
Although the country is still nowhere near its hey-day of being the number one exporter - the peak being around the time of President Daoud Khan (1973) - the EPAA said the sector was improving each year with exports now reaching 43 countries. "We are in the sixth position of 12 countries that export raisins. We increased our exports from 8,500 tonnes to 24,000 tonnes in the last year," Sayed Azim Mustafa Hashimi of the EPAA's Raisins, Fruits and Vegetables department told TOLOnews. "But in terms of quality, Afghanistan has first position," he added. Before the civil war, Afghanistan was exporting 210,000 tonnes per year all around the world, according to the EPAA. The civil war seriously destroyed much of its export capacity, but recent years have seen massive growth to international markets. Afghan traders, however, said the industry still faces big challenges in terms transit and lack of good markets. Head of the Raisin Exporter Union Haji Farid said delays plague the exporters. "The government needs to facilitate [the exports]. Afghan traders and I wanted to export raisins to London but [our produce] was stopped for 50 days in Pakistain's Beautiful Downtown Peshawar," he told TOLOnews. Posted by: trailing wife 2012-07-08 |
|
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=347995 |