2 OCTOBER 2011 | KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

 

Developing new markets for Afghanistan’s fresh fruit is critical for the development of the Afghanistan agricultural sector – both to increase job opportunities in Afghanistan and as a platform for future agricultural growth. Five Afghan companies attended the India Fresh Fruit Trade Office opening looking for ways to expand their export sales. They are especially interested in taking advantage of the huge and profitable India fresh fruit market. Afghan farmers receive a high price for their products in India because their production is at a different time of the year and is considered of the highest quality.

 

The Afghan companies turned to the USAID-funded India Fresh Fruit Trade Office for assistance in developing this new market. The trade office acts as a central point where Afghan traders gain access to the Indian market through business linkages, capacity-building services, and problem-solving trade facilitation. The trade office put the fruit traders in touch with 19 new India buyers at the office opening. The office helped the two groups come together to recognize the wonderful fresh products that Afghanistan has to offer. The participants sampled the Afghan produce and were pleased with the quality and variety. Everyone agreed that this produce would be in high demand in the Indian market.

 

Sayed Obaidullah Mahboob, president of Afghan Focus Ltd., was one of the traders who attended the opening of the new trade office where he met a number of Indian buyers. A week later, his company exported its first shipment of apricots to New Delhi. The USAID project is now arranging more shipments of apricots to India.

 

The Afghan fresh fruit sector has been successful in the past in exporting high quality products all over the world. In addition to the Indian market, Afghan traders are selling into the United Arab Emirates, Europe, and Canada. These export markets are critical to the continued growth of Afghanistan’s fresh produce sector. Afghanistan has the potential to become one of the premier countries for supplying the highest quality fruit to the region.