Helmand province's department of agriculture said Sunday that it expects around 28,000 metric tons of pomegranates will be harvested from Helmand province this year.

The department says that due to the good weather in Helmand, the orchards in the province produce sooner than other provinces.

According to the officials in Helmand, after examining 33 species of pomegranates in the province, they provided support to the pomegranate orchards that yield sooner.

The officials say that Helmand pomegranates are exported to most provinces and gardeners are happy with the good market for their products.

The gardener says that this year the yield is better than last year's.

“The garden fruits in Helmand are beneficial for the gardeners,” said Mohammad Omar, a gardener.

“Helmand pomegranates are harvested earlier than in other places, that is why they are sold for a good price,” said Nazir Ahmad, another gardener.

Most of the fruit from Helmand is sent to Kandahar and Kabul after packaging. Gardeners say that a month after the arrival of pomegranates in Helmand, pomegranate orchards in other provinces will also ripen.

“Helmand pomegranates are high in price because they ripens sooner than in other places and they are good quality. And when pomegranates ripen in other provinces with high quantity their price is also cheap,” said Gulalai, a gardener.

Helmand's agriculture department also says that this year, pomegranate yields in Helmand will be 16 percent higher than last year.

“This year, we will have an estimated 28,106 metric tons of pomegranates in the province, which is an increase of 16.6 percent compared to last year,” said Zalmay Alako, head of Helmand's agriculture directorate.

In Helmand, there are up to 12,000 hectares of pomegranate orchards.

According to officials, the famous pomegranates come from Nawzad district.

The local agricultural officials say that since last year, in addition to pomegranates, many people have established orchards for other fruits, as well.