KANDAHAR CITY: The government is airlifting for the first time 12,000 tons of fresh fruits to India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the southern Kandahar province.
Officials said 6,000 tons of grapes would be exported to India and the UAE each on Wednesday via the air route to save the commodity from going rotten.
Afghanistan's fresh fruits are in great demand in India, Pakistan, the UAE and Gulf states, but decades of conflict have left the government with little ability to arrange speedy shipment of the produce.
Abdur Raziq Rafiqi, chairman of the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce, said fruits were airlifted abroad for the first time in the history of the province.
In a chat with Pajhwok Afghan News, he informed three storages had been constructed in the province to preserve fresh and dry fruits throughout the year. Two of these have been built with financial assistance from the US while the third will be completed soon with the help of India.
The two storages, he added, had the capacity for storing 44,000 tons of fruits. "At present, 22,000 tons have been placed there."
About Afghanistan's fruit exports to India, Rafiqi said 35,000 tons had been dispatched to that country under the transit trade via Pakistan last year while a target of 20,000 had been set for the current year.
He said construction of the three storages had enabled them to keep fresh fruits till their demand shot up in the international market.
Haji Lal Mohammad, a resident of the Arghandab district, having grape orchards in the area, said the exports to India and the UAE via air routes would earn growers a reasonable price.
It is pertinent to recall that 85,000 tons of fruits were exported to Pakistan, India and England from the Kandahar province last year. | 
Health
