China is fast becoming a lucrative market for Afghan products, including handmade carpets, pine nuts and other goods.
Speaking to China’s Xinhua news agency, one carpet weaver in Kabul, Safiullah, said he is trying to produce as many carpets as possible for the Chinese market.
“The demand for hand-woven and high-quality carpets is on a constant rise in the [Chinese] market,” Safiullah told Xinhua, suggesting that the promotion of the art of carpet weaving could help low-income families improve their living conditions.
Safiullah’s impoverished family sees this as a great chance to overcome their economic hardship thanks to China, considered one of the most suitable markets for Afghan products.
Following the launch of a direct flight between Kabul and the northwestern city of Urumqi in China, trade between the two countries is expected to increase – including the trade of carpets.
“Export of Afghan carpets to China has significantly increased, leading us to sell more carpets and thus facilitating us to hire more workers in the industry,” Sayed Bilal Farooqi, a member of the Afghan Carpet Union, told Xinhua.
Afghanistan, according to the Union of Carpet Producers and Exporters, has exported more than one million square meters of carpets to China over the past two years.
Like carpets, pine nuts have also become a major export item of Afghanistan. The Ministry of Economy estimates that the government will earn about $2 billion annually from pine nut exports, mainly to China, within the next few years.
