Local officials in Maidan Wardak say that 15,000 metric tons of apples from the province have been exported to India, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and some European countries.
150,000 metric tons of apples have been harvested from the province’s orchards this year, they said.
Eid Mohammad Zaheri, the head of agricultural affairs at the Department of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock in Maidan Wardak, stated: “This year, more than 150,000 metric tons of apples have been collected from farmers. This is good news for farmers, as apple production has increased by 20 to 25 percent compared to previous years.”
Several orchard owners in Maidan Wardak have called on officials to improve the market for selling their products.
“Before the harvest season, prices are high, but as soon as the apples reach the market, prices drop significantly, and we can’t even cover our costs. We have dug large wells for irrigation and worked hard, but at the time of sale, even the cost of fertilizers and pesticides is not recovered,” said Mohammad Shah, an orchard owner.
“We expect the government to provide a suitable market for our products so that they can be marketed effectively and exported to foreign countries,” said an orchard owner, Safiullah.
“When our fruits reach the market, they have no value. For example, at that time, a cartload of apples was sold for only 3,000 to 4,000 Afghanis. If we had proper cold storage facilities, we could sell our products at better prices,” Rahmatullah, another orchard owner, added.
Local officials in Maidan Wardak emphasized that they will provide the necessary facilities for domestic and foreign traders to create suitable markets for selling the province’s fresh fruits.
