Afghan chamber of commerce says cotton exports have decreased

KABUL (TOLONews): The Chamber of Commerce and Investment said that Afghanistan’s cotton exports have decreased.
Officials of the chamber said many farmers plant cotton, but the demand from international markets is less this year. “Last year we sold one ton of cotton for up to $3,700 to Pakistan, but this year Pakistan buys cotton from India for $1,900 per ton, and this year Balkh and Helmand provinces have the most cotton,” said Khan Jan Alokozai, a member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce and Investment. Farmers in Balkh are concerned about the lack of markets for cotton. They said that the lack of markets for cotton has made them economically vulnerable
“Compared to last year, the price of cotton has decreased by around 8,000 or 7,000 Afs and farmers are concerned about this,” said Mubasher Mutawakal, a cotton exporter.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry gave assurances that they will create facilities for exports of cotton.
“In the first 6 months of the year we had exported to Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Turkey, and now in the past two days we have made an agreement with one of the neighbor countries to restart exports of cotton,” said Abdul Salam Jawad, a spokesman for the MoCI.
The cotton is mostly planted in Balkh, Helmand, Jawzjan, Sar-e-Pul, Baghlan, Kunduz, and Takhar provinces. According to the numbers of the Ministry of Commerce and Investment, Afghanistan in the past has exported more than 20,000 tons of cotton annually.