Several shoe manufacturers in Kunduz say they are worried about the decline in their business.

They say that due to the lack of a sales market, the high cost of raw materials, and the import of shoes from abroad, their production has decreased.

Mohammad Khalid, who has been engaged in shoemaking in a corner of Kabul city for the past 10 years, said that recently their business has slowed down.

Mohammad Khalid told TOLOnews: "We ask the government to establish a raw materials factory in Afghanistan so that we can obtain cheaper materials and offer our products to our fellow citizens at a reasonable price."

Noorullah Waziri, an industry worker, said: "They should raise the taxes on shoes and sandals that come from outside the country so that we can advance our work and progress, and also create facilities for us in the field of raw materials."

Another industry worker, Mohammad, said: "Leather is sent from here to Pakistan, where it is turned into leather and brought back to us at a high cost. This facility should be established within our own country so that everything can be produced for us here."

However, local officials in Kunduz pledged their support for the work and activities of domestic producers and industry workers in the province.

Mohammad Rahim Seerat, head of Kunduz's Industry and Commerce, said: "We have various programs to cooperate with them, including discounts on electricity bills, and we are considering providing facilities in the supply of raw materials and marketing."

The shoemaking industry or shoe production in various parts of the country has a long history, and domestic shoe producers are urging citizens to use their products in order to promote domestic industry and improve the country's economic situation.