Afghanistan’s first factory to process grapes and raisins is to be built in the northern province of Parwan, and will provide jobs for at least 300 locals. 

Addressing the foundation laying ceremony on Thursday, Afghanistan’s CEO Abdullah Abdullah outlined the importance of investment in the country in the agriculture sector, saying investment in this sector would help Afghanistan end its dependency on foreign products. 

Meanwhile Parwan governor Mohammad Asim Asim has expressed deep concerns over the issue of land grabbing in the province, saying the trend has deterred investment.

The grapes and raisins factory will be ready in four months thanks to a joint investment by the Afghan government and the private sector. 

The establishment of the factory will provide nearly three hundred jobs for Afghans.

“Businessmen can invest in any part of the world, but those, who love their country and think about their country, are interested to benefit their countrymen from their investment and business,” Abdullah said.

“Land grabbing is a big challenge for government, provincial and local offices,” Parwan governor Mohammad Asim Asim said. 

The factory will have the capacity to process almost 200 tons of raisins and grapes a day. 

“This will increase the local products and besides that it will provide a better market for Afghanistan’s agricultural products. It will also help improve the economy of farmers in Parwan,” the deputy minister of agriculture, Abdul Qadir Jawad said. 

Almost 80 percent of the products processed at the factory will be exported abroad.

“There must be a good relation between agriculture and trade, but it is not so in the country. The main reason in the trade deficit. The national businessmen import 90 percent of goods but export only 10 percent. This is the main reason,” Minister of Commerce and Industries, Humayun Rasa, said. 

The ministry of agriculture and irrigation has pledged to provide technical and financial support for the establishment of the factory.