KABUL (SW) – Several pine nut vendors in southeastern provinces of Afghanistan say that the monopoly on pine nut (Chilgoza pine) exports to China has caused significant harm to them.
They added that in the previous solar year (1403), 3,500 tons of pine nuts were harvested in Paktia and Paktika, but Chinese traders have only exported 2,000 tons so far, leaving 1,500 tons unsold.
Siyal Khan, the deputy head of the Pine Nut Sellers’ Union in Khost province, stated that if the remaining pine nuts are not exported soon, a large portion will spoil as the weather warms up.
According to him, Chinese traders only export the pine nuts they prefer, which causes the remaining stock to lose value, leading to financial losses for local traders.
Two pine nut sellers, Faridullah and Najatullah, from the southeastern region of Afghanistan, have urged the de-facto Islamic Emirate’s government to find alternative export routes to prevent further damage to their business.
Meanwhile, Mostaghfer Gorbaz, the spokesperson for the Khost governor, pledged that measures would be taken to facilitate exports of pine nuts to other countries as well.
Pine nuts harvested from Paktia and Paktika are transported to Khost for processing, before being exported abroad.
