Afghan traders send first-ever onion shipment to India via Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Afghan traders have sent their first-ever shipment of onions, costing 91 million Afghanis, to India through Pakistan.

Traders from Kunar said that for the first time the process of exporting onions from this province to India has begun. They added that the first shipment of onions, costing 91 million Afghanis, will reach India in less than a month.

Habib Rahman, a trader, said: “Today we are loading these onions. We have contracted 8,000 tons, and this is the first truck you see.”

Habib Jan, another trader, said: “Today we have found a good market which is a foreign market and has a positive impact on the lives of farmers.”

Some farmers and residents of the province considered the start of onion exports to foreign countries to be beneficial.

Aziz Rahman, a farmer, said: “Provide us with improved seeds in time and build standard cold storage so that we can keep our vegetables in it, and there is also a road problem that needs attention.”

Malik Ajmal, a resident of Kunar, said: “A cold storage should be built in Asadabad so that our farmers can store their produce there.” Local officials in Kunar pledged cooperation with farmers in this regard.

Abdullah Haqqani, the deputy governor of Kunar, said: “We are cooperating with all traders in Kunar and assure all farmers that anyone who invests here, we support them and stand behind them.”

Nazar Mohammad Atiq, the mayor of Asadabad, said: “From the hard work and efforts of our farmers, we gain a benefit so that our country progresses in this field.”

Kunar is an agricultural province in the country, which, in addition to onions, also has various types of fresh fruits.