Afghanistan exports saffron and asafoetida worth $77.5 million till August

19-Oct-2024 12:17 PM

Kabul. Data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Afghanistan shows that during the current year, saffron and Ferula asafoetida worth $77.5 million were exported from the country within the last six months. This export is for the period from March to August 2024.

According to a spokesperson of the ministry, during the period under review, 18 tonnes of saffron worth $20.5 million and 617 tonnes of Ferula asafoetida worth $57 million were exported from Afghanistan.

According to official sources, most of this valuable spice was exported to countries like China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, Spain, Germany, Uzbekistan, USA, UK and Indonesia.

It is noteworthy that Ferula asafoetida with yellow flowers and giant root is considered a traditional product of Central Asia and Iran, whereas at present it is produced on a large scale in Afghanistan and from there it is exported to various countries of the world. This includes many other countries including India.

The interesting fact is that the Central Asian country Afghanistan, which is constantly facing the crisis of political instability and war,

is regularly being encouraged and trained by the Ministry of Agriculture to increase the production of saffron and Ferula Asafoetida and better arrangements have also been made to buy the goods from the producers at a reasonable price.

Due to this, the country is earning valuable foreign currency. The major goods exported from Afghanistan include coal, saffron, Ferula Asafoetida, handmade carpets and precious stones etc.