KANDAHAR CITY (SW) – A number of gardeners in Kandahar say that on the one hand, plant pests have damaged pomegranate crops in this province, and on the other hand, they are facing many problems when exporting it.
They add that in addition to this, the Pakistan authorities are also creating problems for them on the border of Spinboldak in regard to exports. These gardeners want the caretaker government to provide alternative ways to export pomegranate products to Asian and European countries.
Esmatullah, a gardener in Kandahar, says: “This year’s crops are very poor because it is plagued. We ask the Islamic Emirate to create air corridors for us so that pomegranates can be exported to other countries.”
Sultan Mohammad, another gardener in Kandahar, wants the authorities to facilitate the export of pomegranates from this province. “It is not useful in Afghanistan because it is very abundant here and it is sold in abundance at low rates. Also, the price of pomegranate is currently 600 or 700 rupees per seven kilo. Therefore, we ask the Islamic Emirate to export pomegranates to other countries.”
Meanwhile, a number of pomegranate traders in Kandahar also say that during harvest, Pakistan always closes the Spinboldek crossing and traders and gardeners cannot transfer their products on time.
Nani Agha, a fresh fruit trader in Kandahar, told Salam Watandar that fruit transport vehicles are not allowed to enter Pakistan for several days, as a result, the fruits become rotten and the traders cannot sell them. He says: “It is very difficult to buy and sell pomegranates in Pakistan this year, however, we are trying to solve this problem, but the costs are high, oil is expensive, they create a lot of problems for us in Pakistan as well.”
However, the officials of the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce, while confirming the existing problems, say that the Pakistani side has promised them that there will be no problems for the traders in the field of exporting and transporting fruits.
Abdul Baqi, deputy head of the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce, says that Kandahar pomegranates are now being exported to Pakistan and through it to India without any problems. He adds: “We don’t have any problems with Pakistan during fruit exports this year because we had a meeting with them three months ago and before the harvest season of fresh fruits. We had a meeting with the Pakistani consul and their head of foreign relations in Kandahar, and they promised that there will be no problem during the export of fruit and no additional tax will be imposed.”
According to Afghan traders, Pakistan closes the Torkham and Spinboldak routes under various pretexts during the fruit harvest in Afghanistan and causes a lot of financial losses to them.
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