The National Development Corporation (NDC) deputy head Reyazuddin Sharifi said that the increase in the price of coal in the country has caused the production levels of cement factories in Afghanistan to decrease, especially Jabal al-Saraj Cement Factory.

He said that both internal and foreign factors have contributed to the increase in coal prices and said that the majority of the cement sold in Afghan markets is imported from neighbouring countries.

“We as the users of the cement are facing challenges in the production of cement, because when the price of coal increases, it costs too much to produce the cement,” he said.

The Jabal al-Saraj Cement Factory, according to some cement sellers, does not produce enough cement to meet people’s demand so they import it from other countries.

“If they address this problem we will not need to import cement from Pakistan, we have to get self-sufficient,” said Javid, a seller of cement.

“This much production cannot fulfil our demands, this is a serious problem and needs to be addressed,” said Abdul Basit, another cement seller.

However, some workers at the Jabal al-Saraj Cement Factory complained that there are not enough basic tools available to make cement.

“We don’t have proper clothes, the plastic hats they have given us break when they hit by the rocks, the gloves they gave us don't last more than two weeks,” said Saifurahman, an employee.

The Jabal al-Saraj Cement Factory was the first cement production factory in Afghanistan and was founded 64 years ago.

The National Development Corporation said that this factory produces 50 to 80 tons of cement in a day and has 170 employees.