KABUL (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock says the export level of dried fruits from southern Kandahar province will reach 5,000 metric tons this year following their high production in the country.

The ministry said in a statement that due to efforts and programs of the Islamic Emirate to increase the production and quality of dried fruits in the country, the export of these products from Kandahar province will reach 5,000 metric tons this year.

Qari Gul Mohammad, head of the Secretariat of the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and Investment and representative of the Afghanistan Dried Fruit Association, said that last year dried fruits weighing 4,500 metric tons were exported, but this year, with the increase in domestic production, this level will reach 5,000 metric tons.

He said that currently, 15 types of dried fruits from Afghanistan, such as figs, raisins, abjoosh, sugar para and almonds, were collected from different provinces of the country such as Balkh, Takhar, Herat, Ghazni, Faryab, Jawzjan and Kandahar, packaged in Kandahar's Pashurandam and exported from there to India, Pakistan and a number of European countries.

Qari Gul Mohammad added that the closure of the Pakistani route has created some problems in the export process, but exports through Iran's Abbas and Chabahar ports were still ongoing.

Maulvi Sher Mohammad Hatami, Director of Information and Public Awareness at the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, visited the dried fruit market.

In his address to traders, he emphasized that the ministry will continue to support the dried fruit sector and make efforts to resolve existing challenges.

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