Officials in the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MoCI) at a session on Monday said the ministry will develop a National Strategy for Export Expansion with the help of the World Trade Organization and the European Union aimed at reducing balance deficit.

The commerce and industries minister, Humayun Rasa, said the strategy will be made in consultation with the private sector.

“Solutions will be provided for the challenges and obstacles for exports in the strategy,” Rasa said.

Atiqullah Nusrat, CEO of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries, meanwhile said lack of process and packaging factories, lack of quality certificates and law problems are the obstacles on the way of exports.

“One of the problems and challenges that our private sector and exporters face is lack of standards and lack of certificate of quality for our export therefore our exported goods have returned from European markets many times,” Nusrat said.

“With investment in different areas of agricultural sector, we hope that we develop the capacity to regain our export position as we had in 1990s,” the minister of agriculture Assadullah Zamir said.

At the same event, the European Union (EU) ambassador to Afghanistan, Franz-Michael Mellbin, said legal problems is another reason behind decrease in the country’s exports.

“We also facing a situation which takes on average 85 days from Afghanistan, that is a lot, and even by international standards it is quite high,” the EU ambassador said.

According to the MoCI, balance deficit has decreased by 90 percent this solar year and the ministry continues its efforts to increase exports to Russia and the Central Asia through Uzbekistan.