Taliban said their deputy chief minister Abdul Ghani Baradar on Wednesday inaugurated a raisin processing factory in the Estalif district in Kabul which is expected to process 10,000 tons of raisins annually.
According to a statement from Baradar’s office, the $8 million factory, known as the Afghan Samoon Raisin Processing Factory, sits on 128 jeribs of land and will export its products to markets including Russia, Saudi Arabia, India, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.
At the ceremony, Baradar said the plant would create jobs for “hundreds of citizens” and strengthen Afghanistan’s export sector by improving the quality and packaging of agricultural goods. “Standardization of exports is essential for preserving Afghanistan’s credibility and strengthening commercial ties,” he said.
He also pointed to broader initiatives by the Taliban, including irrigation projects, cold storage facilities and trade fairs designed to promote Afghan products abroad.
He emphasized regional trade routes, citing the expansion of Afghanistan’s railway network and efforts to make the Lapis Lazuli Corridor — a transport link connecting Afghanistan to Europe — fully operational.
This comes as Afghanistan is faced with a fragile economy over the past four years amidst fall in international aid and Taliban restrictions on women.
