KABUL (Agencies): More than 113,000 tons of dried fruits and medicinal plants have been exported from Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province over the past 12 months, Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and Industries officials said, adding that this generated $308 million in revenue.
“We faced some troubles in exporting due to the political developments, but we continued to export in good quality. Thanks God Islamic Emirate officials have not created any problems for us,” said Mohammad Dawood Qaderi, head of Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and Industries. He said that they gave advice to IEA authorities on improving exports, which they accepted.
According to the official, figs have been the biggest export this year. Meanwhile, traders also said that the export sector in Kandahar has improved.
“Thanks God, trade in dried fruits is going well. The routes are secure now,” said Mir Hamza, a dried fruits trader. He called for an agreement with countries that would allow for barter deals.
Some traders, however, said that they were unable to collect their exchanged items or their money due to sanctions. Noor Ali, a dried fruits trader, said that the level of exports was good this year, but traders were unable to collect their money due to international banking restrictions.