The Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that in the first three months of the current solar year, 17,000 tons of wheat worth over one and a half million dollars has been imported to Afghanistan from various countries.
The ministry’s spokesperson Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad said that most wheat imports have been from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, India, Turkmenistan, and the United Arab Emirates.
Jawad said: “Wheat imports to Afghanistan have come from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, India, Turkmenistan, and the UAE. In the solar year 1402, it amounted to 1,000 tons worth 20.6 million dollars, and in the first three months of the current solar year, about 17,000 tons worth 1.6 million dollars.”
Although the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock has reported a 13% increase in wheat yields, the yield has decreased in some provinces and increased in others. For example, in the central province of Daikundi, yields have decreased, but in Faryab, wheat yields have increased.
Hafizullah, a farmer from Faryab, said: “This year, the wheat harvest was very good. There was rain too, but there was no market. If the market is not good, we will lose the harvest.”
Khan Mohammad, a farmer from Daikundi, said: “Since last year, no wheat has been left, and this year, the wheat we harvested has reached three or four hundred. The water was good, the wheat was good, but ultimately the seed did not fully mature.”
Meanwhile, officials in the Islamic Emirate say that Afghanistan has not yet achieved self-sufficiency in wheat production and annually buys the required amount of wheat from neighboring and regional countries.
Misbahuddin Mustaeen, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, told TOLOnews: “In the year 1403, approximately 14 million hectares of land across the country have been dedicated to wheat cultivation, which will yield over 5 million metric tons of produce.”
On the other hand, the Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock urges traders and officials in the Islamic Emirate to import wheat instead of flour to ensure the investments made in the country’s mills are not wasted.
“Wheat should be imported because it is a good alternative to flour. The mills currently in Afghanistan cannot compete with others, and flour tariffs are very low. The silos that traders have invested in here are now idle,” said Mirwais Hajizadeh, deputy of the Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, Afghanistan needs 6.9 million metric tons of wheat annually, and the country is striving to achieve self-sufficiency by expanding the cultivation and production of improved wheat seeds.