I still remember my uncle’s factory in Ningrahar province, producing the best-selling soap products across many provinces in the country for years and then there was a sudden bankruptcy, everything that was working smoothly start crumbling leaving behind more than 100's of workers and employees jobless, the reason for the downfall was the provision of raw material from Pakistan due to their policy change.
This is only an example of one factory; I do not want to go into the details but am quite sure every factory in Afghanistan went through such situation. After the invasion of US & NATO, there have been extraordinary changes in economic, agricultural and business sectors with huge funding allotted to their particular ministries; this change attracted many potential businessmen, sensing an opportunity to invest in Afghanistan. Soon the markets flourished with huge imports from across all parts of the world and less exports from Afghanistan.
My focus in this article is on Afghan products, regardless of all the restrictions we do have some products that are being exported to neighboring countries and many European countries as well. Following are the products.
Carpets and Rugs
These are available in major Afghan cities such as Kabul, Herat, Mazare-Sharif, Ningrahar and Kandahar, internationally such as Iran, India and Pakistan, In Pakistan, "Afghan Carpets" is a famous brand with branches in major cities such as Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore & Karachi. Afghan rugs are also available online in Amazon and different sites.
- Afghan Ersari Rug
- Afghan Torba
- Turkoman Carpet
- Beloutch and Beloutch-Type Carpet
Honey Bee Products
Recently there has been progress in honey industry of Afghanistan, which is responsible for the production of quality Afghan honey, following are the main species producing honey in Afghanistan.
- Apis Cerana
- Apis Dorsata
- Apis mellifera
Afghan Minerals
Combined in total, the mineral industry in Afghanistan is worth a trillion dollars, this industry needs to be explored in order to give a path way to development and success otherwise this dream would fade away.
- Uranium
- Iron
- Copper
- Cobalt
- Graphite
- Potassium
- Magnesium
- Mercury
- Lead
- Gold
- Silver
- Aluminium
- Asbestos
Fresh Fruits
- Apple
- Apricot
- Pomegranate
- Peach
- Hussaini Grapes
Dry Fruits & Nuts
- Pine nuts
- Shelled Almonds
- Dry Apricots
- Dry Black Mulberry
- Dry Figs
- Raisins
- White green Pistachio
- Walnut
- Senjet
Other Products
- Gilims
- Karakul
- Olives
- Tobacco
These products are easily available for every Afghan at good price in the country. Unfortunately as compared to importers who are responsible for the inflation, the manufacturers and exporters in Afghanistan are not much active given the circumstances, the market outside Afghanistan is vast and there is a huge demand for such products. Both the public & private sector must come forward with the collaboration of international community in this regard and work together in different sectors
REFERENCES:
http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/2010/myb3-2010-af.pdf
http://mission-afghanistan.ch/Embassy/index.php/business-and-investment/afghanistan-major-products
http://www.sellingantiques.co.uk/antique-rugs/antique-afghan-rugs/
http://www.mining.com/afghanistans-1-trillion-mining-dream-is-fading-62448/
http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/afghan-marble.html
http://aredp-mrrd.gov.af/?page=home&lang=en
