Transit problems with Pakistan and a lack of cooperation from the Afghan government have been key reasons for a 95 percent drop in exports of Afghan carpet
in the last five years, an Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) official said Tuesday.
ACCI Vice-Chairman Khanjan Alokozay said the lack of Afghanistan's processing facilities to efficiently produce carpets from the raw material had also contributed to the decrease.
He claimed that Pakistan was creating transit problems for Afghan carpet traders in an attempt to force them to produce the carpets inside Pakistan.
"Unfortunately, we don't have the necessary facilities inside the country and our neighbors are creating transit issues," Alokozay told TOLOnews. "The traders have no choice but to produce the carpets in Pakistan and export under Pakistan's name."
He warned of a complete destruction of the carpet industry if the problems were not seriously addressed.
Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MoCI) spokesman, Wahidullah Ghazi Khil, said he was unaware of any transit issues in this regard.
"If Pakistan, Iran, Russia or India are creating transit issues to the Afghan carpet traders, they [the traders] should contact us," Ghazi Khil said. "It is the duty of the Ministry of Commerce and Industries to solve such issues."
The ACCI has made three primary demands for the government to help the industry: establish a carpet industrial production park, subsidise business loans to carpet producers, and exempt carpet raw material from custom duties.
The MoCI says on its website that it is developing a marketing strategy to pitch Afghan carpets to overseas markets and will seek a premium for their "unique" character.
The carpet sector is of "strategic importance for the future development of the Afghan economy", it says, accounting for 47 % of the country´s export earnings in 2002/2003.
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