First shipment of Afghan apples arrive for sale in India

The first shipment of Afghan apples for sale in the Indian market -- branded the Silk Road Harvest -- has arrived in India, an official press release said here today.

The consignment was seen off at a function in Kabul on November 11 by the Afghan Minister for Agriculture. The Indian Ambassador in Afghanistan and farmers from the provinces of Kandahar, Ghazni, Paktia and Wardak were present on the occasion.

According to the release, the Afghan farmers will be able to receive in India four times the current low price that they are receiving for their apple exports. USAID experts in the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture have assisted with technical advice and marketing linkages with supermarkets and fruit markets in Delhi.

The Government of India facilitated the mandatory Pest Risk Analysis for Afghan apples and will assist Afghanistan in training Afghan experts in meeting the phyto-sanitary standards required, the release said.

It said India provided a large and growing market for Afghan agricultural products, several of which – including Kandahari Anars and Kagazi Badams – have excellent brand value in the Indian market. Regional trade and transit arrangements for the transport of Afghan agricultural produce to the Indian market would facilitate both the growth of regional trade and prosperity, as well as the process of stabilization of Afghanistan and its re-emergence at the cross-roads between Central and South Asia.

The release said the growth of the Afghan agriculture sector was a key part of the efforts of the Government of Afghanistan to accelerate the process of reconstruction and development, provide an alternate source of livelihood for its predominantly rural population and counter the pernicious influence of terrorism, extremism and the narcotics trade.

It also pointed out that cooperation with Afghanistan in the agricultural sector was a key part of India’s commitment to assisting the Afghan people in building a democratic, pluralistic and prosperous Afghanistan.

"Indian projects in the sector include the Salma Dam in Herat province, a cold storage facility in Kandahar, numerous Small Development Projects including establishment of demonstration nurseries, bore wells, culverts, canals, water supply projects and small water reservoirs, discussions on Indian assistance in establishment of an agricultural and technological university in Kabul, training of Afghan experts and provision of scholarships for Afghan students to study in India, and provision of high-protein biscuits to Afghan schoolchildren under a WFP programme and are all examples of India’s commitment to helping Afghanistan in this important area that is of immediate consequence for its people, and for the international efforts to bring back peace and stability to Afghanistan," it said.

India is hoping that the Silk Road Harvest was merely the first step in a process of freer and easier movement of goods in the region, which would allow Afghanistan to overcome artificial constraints on the development of its agricultural sector, improve trade and transit facilities, and contribute to the peace and stability of the region and the prosperity of its people.

NNN