The Taliban-run agriculture ministry said on Sunday it had opened a 3,000-metric-ton cold storage facility in Kabul, adding that it is part of efforts to reduce post-harvest losses and encourage private investment in the agricultural sector.
The facility, known as the Habib Jamalzoy Cold Storage, was built at a cost of $3 million on six jeribs (nearly 3 acres) of land in the Dehsabz industrial park on the outskirts of Kabul, the ministry said in a statement.
The cold storage unit was inaugurated by Sadr Azam Usmani, the Taliban deputy minister for agriculture and livestock, along with officials from the agriculture and livestock chamber, the Agricultural Development Fund and local authorities.
Usmani said the development of large, standard cold storage facilities was essential to prevent agricultural produce from being wasted during harvest seasons and was a key need for farmers, traders and consumers. He called on the private sector to increase investment in the area.
The head of the agriculture and livestock chamber, Khan Mohammad Frotan, said such facilities could help reduce imports, preserve the quality of agricultural products and strengthen the economy, while also creating jobs.
Frotan added that nearly 110 small and large cold storage facilities had been newly built or refurbished and put into operation in Kabul province this year.
The chamber’s deputy head, Mirwais Hajizada, warned that seasonal closures of trade borders with neighbouring countries during harvest periods had harmed farmers, urging traders and investors to focus on domestic investment to support local production.
The Taliban authorities have announced a five-year tax exemption for cold storage developers as part of measures aimed at encouraging investment in the sector.
