Plan to fly out fruits proves unfruitful
KANDAHAR: Afghanistan’s plans to fly shipments from southern fruit growers to India have gone awry, leaving tonnes of grapes and melons to rot as officials scramble to add flights, while trading blame for the delays.
The problem illustrates the hurdles Afghanistan faces in rebuilding its strife-torn economy, a crucial step if it is to wean itself off billions of dollars in foreign aid annually.
Horticultural producers, who export nearly US$360mil (RM1.5bil) worth of goods each year, have long grappled with the challenges of transport in the mountainous nation.
The flights offered them a way around frequent border closures by neighbouring Pakistan.
But the system has not worked as promised, with just a handful of flights having carried goods to India, causing losses for some producers in Kandahar, 500km southwest of the capital, Kabul.
“We packed some 40 tonnes of fruit, mainly melons and grapes, but weeks passed without flights,” said Haji Saduddin, head of the region’s Kandahar Fruit Company.
“We had to sell it for less than half price in the local market.”
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani this week ordered officials to coordinate more closely with the airlines to ensure every flight carried 80 to 100 tonnes of fruit, the presidential palace said in a statement, after he met business leaders on the issue.
Since June 19, just one flight, carrying 60 tonnes of medicinal plants, has left Kandahar, Haji Nasrullah Zaheer, head of the city’s chamber of commerce, said.
“It is fruit season in Kandahar, but the delicate fruit just rotted here due to lack of flights,” he said.
Fruit producers had long pressed for more air cargo services but disjointed planning and a lack of infrastructure proved a stumbling block.
Afghan officials are trading blame over the rotten fruit.
The government plans to compensate traders for losses but for some, it could be too little, too late. — Reuters