For the first time in the past two months, 9,500 tons of onions, valued at more than two million U.S. dollars, have been exported from Kandahar to India and Pakistan.
The Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and Investment says they are working to increase the level of agricultural exports from the province to foreign markets.
Abdul Baqi Bina, Deputy of the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said: “Fortunately, this year in the past two months, we were able to export 9,500 tons of onions worth two million and one hundred thousand dollars from Kandahar to India and Pakistan. Our goal is to find more markets for Kandahar’s products.”
Farmers in Kandahar view the export of their agricultural products to global markets as beneficial for their economic growth.
Mohammad Younis, a farmer, said: “All our hard work throughout the year is for this. The onions must be sold at a good price and exported abroad to help our economy.”
Abdul Rahman, another farmer, said: “This year, good onions have been grown in Kandahar. Our request is that they be sent to foreign countries so that the farmers’ economy can be further strengthened.”
The Kandahar Department of Agriculture and Irrigation says that in the current solar year, onions have been cultivated on 1,900 hectares of farmland in the province, and based on their estimates, 68,000 tons of onions will be harvested.
Shamsur Rahman Musa, head of the agricultural department of the Kandahar Department of Agriculture and Irrigation, said: “This year in Kandahar, according to our estimates, onions have been planted on 1,900 hectares of land, and approximately 68,000 tons of produce will be obtained. We can say that this year’s onion harvest is good.”
According to information from the Kandahar Department of Agriculture and Irrigation, farmers in the districts of Daman, Arghandab, Zhari, Shawalikot, Takhtapul, Khakrez, and Spin Boldak have cultivated onions in this province.
