Afghan Saffron's sales goes down by 20 to 30 %, traders tensed

Due to a drop in sales of Afghan saffron by 20-30 per cent, traders called on the Islamic Emirates to help them facilitate the export of Afghan products in the current solar year 1400, increasing the prices of the spice which is also termed as 'Red Gold'.

Sales of Saffron witnessed a sharp decline of 20-30 per cent, as compared to the previous year, the Afghan traders said, adding that the prices have also skyrocketed, reported TOLO news.

"Due to less products, the prices have also risen," said Mohammad Asghar, a trader."Last year (1400 solar), the price of one kilo was around 100,000 to 150,000 Afs," said Shibita Omidwar, a saffron worker.

The saffron yields of Herat have many times been ranked the world's top saffron but due to the lack of an air corridor, the export of saffron abroad has recently dropped, complained, traders.

"We have exports to at least 28 countries. We are facing a lot of restrictions at the moment. One of them is the lack of an air corridor for saffron exports," said Nasir Azimi, a saffron trader, according to TOLOnews.Based on available numbers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, saffron is being cultivated on more than 8,000 hectares of land across Afghanistan.

Afghanistan with its 12.8% market share in the global exports, holds the third position, after Iran and India in the production of Saffron, which also has the potential to fetch millions of Dollars and pull millions out of poverty, boosting the over all economy of Afghanistan in a massive way.

( With inputs from ANI )