INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has banned the export of wheat, citing a shortage in meeting the domestic market demand as the
reason.According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Afghanistan needs 6.5 million tons of wheat annually, but domestic production
totals only four million tons.The IEA imposed the ban after videos emerged on social media recently of wheat being smuggled through Spin
Boldak in Kandahar into Pakistan.The Ministry of Finance has meanswhile also asked all customs departments to prevent shipments of wheat
from leaving the country and to crack down on smuggling.According to a ministry spokesman: &We stopped the export of wheat because we still
need it, so the Ministries of Agriculture and Finance started the export ban process.Officials from the Afghan Chamber of Agriculture and
Livestock welcomed the move, adding that the smuggling of all products and produce out of the country, including wheat, should be stopped.We
are happy with this move by the Islamic Emirate, because now our wheat will be processed inside our own country, and investment has been
Our country now has the capacity to process it,& said Mirwais Hajizada, deputy director of the Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock.Economic
experts also said that banning the country&s wheat exports is essential in terms of managing the national economy and developing the
country&s domestic production.The post IEA bans wheat exports due to a shortage for domestic needs first appeared on Ariana News.
