Kabul to import Wheat, Fuel, Gas from Russia

KABUL (Tolo News): Mohammad Younes Momand, the chairman of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI), said that Kabul and Moscow are expected to sign a memorandum of agreement on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Russia concerning Afghanistan’s import of Russian wheat, fuel and gas.
“We will sign a Memorandum of Understanding here at the Chamber of Commerce of Russia tomorrow. We are looking forward to seeing you here. Here, businessmen from Afghanistan and Russia work well together,” said Mohammad Younes Momand, head of the ACCI.
Momand added: “As you are aware, Russia and Afghanistan have close commercial, cultural, and social ties.
The goal is to maintain our trading links with everyone, including Russia, with whom we have friendly relations.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) stated that Afghanistan would be short more than two million tons of wheat this year and that it is in contact with other countries to import wheat.
“This year we need to import around two million tons of wheat from outside, but we have timely agreements with foreign nations to import this wheat,” said Mesbah-uddin Mustaeen, spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock.
According to the Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock, the drought will reduce the wheat production this year, and traders will be required to fill the void.
“The ground should be paved for them to go to Kazakhstan and buy from businessmen so that trade between two countries continues and the nation’s problem can be solved,” said Mirwais Hajizada, a member of the Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock.
Afghanistan needs seven million tons of wheat annually, of which fewer than five million are domestically produced, according to the Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI).