The amount of cotton yield has increased in 17 provinces of the country.

According to the Afghan Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MoAIL), over 72,000 tons of cotton have been harvested in the last year, and the majority of farmers now produce cotton instead of poppy.

"72,493 tons of cotton were harvested, which were bought by merchants,” said Misbah Mosteen, the spokesperson of the ministry.

The majority of cotton is farmed, according to the government, in Takhar, Kunduz, Baghlan, Samangan, Balkh, Jawzjan, Kandahar, Helmand, and a few other provinces.

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that in 1401 (the solar year), Afghanistan exported cotton worth $168 million to other nations.

"The majority of the cotton we exported from Afghanistan is to Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, China, and Germany, and the amount of our exports is about $168 million,” said Akhundzada Abdulsalam Javad, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

A number of farmers in the Helmand province said that they had switched to cultivating cotton for more income.

"We want to cultivate cotton this year, and we are prepared. Cotton has produced good yield at a reasonable cost,” said Abdulbari, a farmer.

"Cotton cultivation in Helmand province had very good results this year and this can be an alternative to opium,” said Hazrat Wali, another farmer.

More than 54,000 hectares of land have been planted with cotton in seventeen provinces of Afghanistan, based on the data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock (MoAIL).