KABUL - The National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) rejected a report by the Ministry Industry and Commerce that says Afghanistan’s exports jumped to $1 billion in 2019.
An NSIA report shows that exports for nine months of 2019--the full-year assessment is not yet complete--were worth at least $535 million.
Afghanistan’s main exports, according to officials, are fresh and dry fruits, vegetables, carpets and some semi-precious stones.
But the Ministry of Industry and Commerce publicly announced a different figure:
“Afghanistan’s exports, for the first time, reached $1 billion in 2019, and I congratulate the people and investors of Afghanistan,” said Samir Rasa, a spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, who addressed a press conference in Kabul on Thursday, Jan. 16.
Answering critics of the ministry, the acting head of trade and transits agreements department of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Murtaza Rahimi, said: “All appointments over the last year in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce have been based on civil services law of Afghanistan.” (TOLO NEWS)