Cotton Price Drop in Balkh Stokes Concerns Among Afghan Farmers
Farmers in Afghanistan’s Balkh province are expressing concern over a sharp decline in cotton prices, despite reporting a good harvest this year. They are urging the Taliban administration to swiftly facilitate cotton exports to international markets.
According to local farmers, the price of 16 seer (approximately 112 kilograms) of cotton was around 14,000 Afghanis last year. This year, the figure has plummeted to roughly 8,500 Afghanis. Zarif, a farmer from Balkh, said, “Farmers can’t even recover their initial investment. We invested, but the capital doesn’t return.”
Meanwhile, Mohammad Akram, who runs a cotton processing factory, is calling on the Taliban authorities to help open export routes to neighboring countries, including Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. He emphasized that the lack of market diversity has led to falling prices and stagnation in the industry.
The union of cotton factory owners in Balkh also pointed to the lack of standardized packaging and processing in line with international standards as a major challenge for cotton exports. Mohammad Zolmay Momand, the union’s head, said, “Products must be collected and packaged according to standard procedures—not in ordinary sacks.”
The union is also urging farmers to follow international standards during the harvesting and preparation phases of cotton, which would enable access to markets beyond Pakistan.
In response to these concerns, the Department of Industry and Trade in Balkh has assured farmers that efforts are underway to open export routes to Central Asian countries. Nasir Ahmad Niazi, the department’s deputy head, said, “The Taliban administration assures traders that exports through alternative routes will proceed securely and that opportunities for farmers to sell their products will be made available.”
The Balkh Department of Agriculture has announced that cotton was cultivated on approximately 30,000 hectares of land across various districts this year, with estimated production expected to exceed 60,000 metric tons.
