DRIED FRUITS AND NUTS SECTOR - International Trade Centre...Fresh fruits and vegetables Dried fruits and nuts Carpets Marble and granite Precious stones and jewellery vi CONTENTS Acknowledgementsiii

Ministry ofIndustry and CommerceIslamic Republic of Afghanistan

AFGHANISTAN’SNATIONAL EXPORT STRATEGY 2018-2022

DRIED FRUITS AND NUTS SECTORA taste of Afghanistan shared around the world

AFGH

ANISTAN

• NATIO

NAL EXPO

RT STRATEG

Y - DRIED FRUITS AND NUTS SECTO

R • 2018-2022

ITC is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. As part of ITC’s mandate of fostering sustainable development through increased trade opportunities, the Chief Economist and Export Strategy section offers a suite of trade-related strategy solu-tions to maximize the development pay-offs from trade. ITC-facilitated trade development strategies and roadmaps are oriented to the trade objectives of a country or region and can be tailored to high-level economic goals, specific development targets or particular sectors, allowing policymakers to choose their preferred level of engagement.

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AFGHANISTANNATIONAL EXPORT STRATEGY2018-2022DRIED FRUITS AND NUTS SECTOR

This project is funded by the European Union

Ministry ofIndustry and CommerceIslamic Republic of Afghanistan

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Dried Fruits and Nuts Strategy forms an integral part of Afghanistan’s National Export Strategy ( NES ). It was developed under the aegis of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the leadership of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce ( MoIC ) and the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( ACCI ), in close collabora-tion with the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock ( MAIL ), the Afghanistan National Standards Authority ( ANSA ) and the Afghanistan Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Strategy benefited from the contributions of sector stakeholders and associations, who played an important role in the consultative process. This Strategy was elaborated thanks to the technical assistance of the International Trade Centre ( ITC ) and falls under the framework of the European Union ( EU )-funded ‘Advancing Afghan Trade: EU Trade Related Assistance’ project.

This document reflects the ambitions of the public and private stakeholders who defined the enhancements and future orientations for the sector with a view to in-creasing export performance and social dividends.

iv

NOTE TO THE READER

Afghanistan’s NES was developed based on a participatory approach during which over 500 Afghan industry leaders, small business owners, farmers and public sector representatives held consultations to reach consensus on key sector com-petitiveness issues and priority activities. These inclusive consultations were held throughout the country, including in Mazar-e-Sharif, Herat, Kandahar and Kabul, with participation of stakeholders coming from Nangarhar Province.

Besides in-depth research and value chain analysis, these consultations were com-plemented by:

� Factory visits through which supply chain assessments were carried out to gain further knowledge on key issues such as quality procedures, technical skills, lean management, quality of raw materials, access to market, etc.

� Interviews with domestic, regional and international buyers to guide the NES with strategic insights and market intelligence as well as buyers’ requirements in terms of quality standards, food safety, packaging, buying cycles, distribution channels, prices, etc.

� Donor coordination meetings to identify synergies with ongoing / planned ini-tiatives of development partners to eventually result in collaboration during the implementation phase.

In spirit and in action: The NES is aligned with existing national and sector-specific plans and policies and builds on ongoing initiatives in areas related to private sector development, regional integration, investment, and youth and women’s economic empowerment.

Equally important, the NES initiative already accommodates budgeting to support implementation of critical pilot activities identified during the design process. This will ensure that impact and momentum are generated from early on, and support further resource mobilization and confidence-building.

v

The principal outputs of the NES Afghanistan design initiative are endorsed, coherent and comprehensive export Strategy documents with a five-year detailed plan of ac-tion ( PoA ) and implementation management framework. These documents include:

1. A main NES document, which contains Trade Support Functional strategies, offering critical support across value chains and acting as enablers for sector development.

2. Individual NES priority sector strategies packaged as separate documents but in alignment with the main NES findings and overarching strategic objectives.

NES Afghanistan

Main NES document comprising Trade Suppor t Functional Strategies:

� Quality management � Trade facilitation � Trade information and promotion � Skills development � Business and professional services � Access to finance

Individual NES priority sector documents:

� Saffron � Fresh fruits and vegetables � Dried fruits and nuts � Carpets � Marble and granite � Precious stones and jewellery

vi

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements iii

Note to the reader iv

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1Strategic objective 1 : Increase volumes of production through better sector coordination, intensification of market-driven production and reduced spoilage. 1

Strategic objective 2 : Enhance food safety and quality assurance by fostering the adoption of enhanced processing methods. 2

Strategic objective 3 : Reclaim Afghanistan’s prominent global reputation through improved packaging and sound market insertion strategies. 2

TRAJECTORY OF THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN AND ENTRY POINTS FOR AFGHAN EXPORTERS 5

PRODUCT MAP 5

SWEET OUTLOOK FOR THE SECTOR AS GLOBAL DEMAND CONTINUES TO GROW 6

A MIXED BAG OF PLAYERS AND STRATEGIES 8

GROWTH OF EUROPE AND ASIA AS IMPORTING REGIONS 8

LEADING IMPORTERS BY PRODUCT 9

A FEW COUNTRIES DOMINATE GLOBAL SUPPLY FOR MOST PRODUCT TYPES 13

LEADING EXPORTERS BY PRODUCTS 14

MAIN DRIED FRUITS AND NUTS SUPPLIERS AND STRATEGIES 16

United States 16

Turkey 17

Islamic Republic of Iran 17

Germany 18

Spain 18

AFGHANISTAN’S DRIED FRUITS AND NUTS VALUE CHAIN 19

CURRENT VALUE CHAIN OPERATIONS 19

Production of dried fruits and nuts 19

Dried fruit and nut processing 19

Value addition facilities 20

Distribution 20

vii

Domestic market 20

International market 20

Fragmented production ecosystem leads to opportunistic rather than demand-driven sector production 22

Low levels of technology characterize Afghan dried fruit and nut processing 22

Unmet financial needs across the value chain 23

Packaging and branding remain major sector weaknesses 23

AFGHANISTAN’S CURRENT EXPORT PERFORMANCE 24

SOME TOUGH NUTS TO CRACK : A SERIES OF CHALLENGES PREVENTING SECTOR GROWTH 29

IN A NUTSHELL : POSITIONING THE AFGHAN DRIED FRUITS AND NUTS SECTOR IN THE GLOBAL MARKET 39

MARKET IDENTIFICATION 42

Short-term phase 42

Medium-to-long-term phase 47

ACHIEVING THE GOALS : VISION AND STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES 51

VISION 51

Strategic objective 1 : Increase volumes of production through better sector coordination, intensification of market-driven production and reduced spoilage. 51

Strategic objective 2 : Enhance food safety and quality assurance across the value chain by fostering the adoption of enhanced processing methods. 53

Strategic objective 3 : Reclaim Afghanistan’s prominent global reputation through improved packaging and sound market insertion strategies. 55

MOVING TO ACTION 57

KEY REQUIREMENTS FOR EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION 57

Establish and operationalize a public and private coordinating body and executive secretariat 57

PLAN OF ACTION 59

viii

FIGURES

Figure 1 : Theory of change 3

Figure 2 : Product map - Dried fruits and nuts 5

Figure 3 : World exported value of dried fruits and nuts, 2005–2016 ( US $ thousands ) 13

Figure 4 : Current value chain – dried fruits and nuts 21

Figure 5 : Afghan exports of dried fruits and nuts, 2008–2016 ( US $ thousands ) 24

Figure 6 : Afghan export basket, dried fruits and nuts, 2008 25

Figure 7 : Afghan export basket, dried fruits and nuts, 2016 25

Figure 8 : Afghanistan’s top 10 export destinations 2008 ( US $ thousands ) 26

Figure 9 : Afghanistan’s top 10 export destinations 2016 ( US $ thousands ) 26

Figure 10 : Problem tree : challenges to compete 32

Figure 11 : Problem tree – challenges to connect 35

Figure 12 : Problem tree – challenges to change 38

Figure 13 : Market segments according to price ranges 40

Figure 14 : Export potential to India – figs 44

Figure 15 : Export potential to India – dried grapes 44

Figure 16 : Export potential to India – dried apricots 44

Figure 17 : Export potential to India – fresh or dried nuts 44

Figure 18 : Export potential to the UAE – dried grapes 46

Figure 19 : Export potential to the UAE – fresh or dried pistachios 46

Figure 20 : Export potential to Germany – dried grapes 48

Figure 21 : Export potential to the United States – dried figs 50

Figure 22 : Future value chain – strategic objective 1 52



ix

TABLES

Table 1 : Top world importers of dried fruits and nuts 8

Table 2 : Leading almond importers worldwide 9

Table 3 : Leading raisin importers worldwide 10

Table 4 : Leading pistachio importers worldwide 10

Table 5 : Leading dried apricot importers worldwide 11

Table 6 : Leading dried fig importers worldwide 11

Table 7 : Leading dried fruit and nut exporters worldwide 13

Table 8 : Leading almond exporters worldwide 14

Table 9 : Leading raisin exporters worldwide 14

Table 10 : Leading pistachio exporters worldwide 15

Table 11 : Leading dried apricot exporters worldwide 15

Table 12 : Leading dried fig exporters worldwide 16

Table 13 : Main processing methods 23

Table 14 : Afghanistan’s top five export destinations for almonds 26

Table 15 : Afghanistan’s top five export destinations for raisins 27

Table 16 : Afghanistan’s top five export destinations for pistachios 27

Table 17 : Afghanistan’s top five export destinations for dried apricots 28

Table 18 : Afghanistan’s top five export destinations for dried figs 28

Table 19 : Afghanistan’s dried fruits and nuts market potential by subproduct 41

Table 20 : Short-term phase ( 0–3 years ) 42

Table 21 : Medium to long-term phase 47

x

BOXES

Box 1 : Specific products forecast 12

Box 2 : Implications for Afghanistan 12

Box 3 : Implications for Afghanistan 18

Box 4 : Women in the dried fruits and nuts value chain 22

Box 5 : Export potential to India of selected products 44

Box 6 : Export potential to the UAE of selected products 46

Box 7 : Export potential to Germany of selected products 48

Box 8 : Export potential to the United States of selected products 50

Box 9 : NES focus 50

xi

ACRONYMS

The following abbreviations are used :

ACCI Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries

ANNGO Afghanistan National Nursery Growers’ Organization

ANSA Afghanistan National Standards Authority

AREU Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit

ARFVEPA Afghan Raisins, Fruits and Vegetables Export Promotion Administration

B2B Business-to-business

CAGR Compound Annual Growth Rate

EU European Union

ISPM International Standards For Phytosanitary Measures

ITC International Trade Centre

MAIL Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock

MoCI Ministry of Commerce and Industries

MoF Ministry of Finance

MoFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs

MoLSAMD Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled

MoRRD Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development

MSMEs Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises

NES National Export Strategy

PoA Plan of action

SMEs Small and medium-sized enterprises

SPS Sanitary and phytosanitary

UAE United Arab Emirates

Photo: Dried Fruits & Nuts, FOX28933.jpg

[ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ]

1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The dried fruits and nuts sector has historically been one of Afghanistan’s leading categories for exports. Afghan rai-sins, in particular, once held a dominant position in world markets prior to Afghanistan being subsumed by warfare in the 1980s.

Afghanistan produces a wide array of dried fruits and nuts ( with many different varieties of raisins and almonds alone ), with unique tastes that have attracted buyers throughout the region. This sector has played a critical role in the post-2001 reconstruction period, filling out Afghanistan’s export basket and setting the foundations for strong export growth in the future.

Afghanistan’s weather and soil conditions are well-suited for the production of fruits and nuts, with local producers possessing a wealth of expertise on traditional processing methods for fruit drying and nut roasting and shelling. While these traditional methods have kept the sector producing and exporting through very difficult times, they have also constrained the sector’s future potential. Traditional methods have kept output volumes low, limiting economies of scale and keeping prices relatively high ( especially compared with industrial-level dried fruits and nuts operations in the United States of America ). More alarmingly, traditional methods have led to quality and food safety concerns for buyers ( and governments ) in Western markets. This has severely limited the diversity of Afghanistan’s export destinations and cut off access to buyers in developed markets willing to pay premium prices for premium products.

At present, Afghan exports of dried fruits and nuts are concentrated in a few regional markets, namely India and Pakistan. This leaves the sector with exciting opportunities to expand its export reach in both the East and the West, but this can only be accomplished with a concerted effort to develop a premium brand and address quality control and food safety issues.

Unlocking the full potential of Afghanistan’s dried fruits and nuts sector will require improvements throughout the cultivating, harvesting and processing stages of production. Following targeted interventions along the value chain, the gains achieved in terms of volume and quality of production outputs have implications beyond boosting export figures. Work producing dried fruits and nuts is labour-intensive, with entire households and communities contributing to different activities along the value chain. Women often play a sig-nificant role during the harvesting and processing stages, thereby elevating their status as contributors to household incomes. A thriving dried fruits and nuts sector will inevitably lead to improvements in the quality of life of the communities connected to the sector.

Recognizing these opportunities and challenges, public and private sector stakeholders have joined forces to de-velop this Dried Fruits and Nuts Sector Export Strategy. This Strategy is driven by the following overall vision :

“ Afghan dried fruits and nuts : a taste of Afghanistan shared

around the world ”To achieve this vision, the Strategy focuses on three strate-gic objectives.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1 : INCREASE VOLUMES OF PRODUCTION THROUGH BETTER SECTOR COORDINATION, INTENSIFICATION OF MARKET-DRIVEN PRODUCTION AND REDUCED SPOILAGE.This strategic objective aims to improve both quality and volume of production. It will improve the availability of high-quality agricultural inputs and true-to-type seedlings ( e.g. for almond orchards ) to achieve consistent yields and product quality. As one element of the Strategy, farmers will be en-couraged to specialize in crops that sell at premium prices in international markets. Opportunities to increase production levels ( e.g. by expanding land under irrigation and consoli-dating existing plots ) will be pursued, with the concurrent goal of lowering costs by achieving economies of scale.

Supporting the formation and operations of produc-ers’ associations, along with improving access to working capital for both producers and traders, are critical elements of this strategic objective. Finally, conducting research documenting the wide array of fruits and nuts produced in Afghanistan, including analysis of each type’s export pros-pects, will allow for more advanced strategy development to take place in the future.

2

[ AFGHANISTAN’S NATIONAL EXPORT STRATEGY / DRIED FRUITS AND NUTS SECTOR 2018-2022 ]

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2 : ENHANCE FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY ASSURANCE BY FOSTERING THE ADOPTION OF ENHANCED PROCESSING METHODS.

This strategic objective is focused on improving the sec-tor’s access to international markets by increasing food safety compliance and providing better quality assurance. This must take place across the value chain, through the various stages of cultivation, harvesting and processing. It also requires enhancing the capacity of Afghan government agencies to identify and halt substandard or contaminated shipments of dried fruits and nuts.

One way to achieve this is through the establishment of farmer field schools that will demonstrate improved agricul-tural techniques through practical training. To improve pro-cessing practices, it is critical to train and certify both male and female agricultural extension service providers who can provide insights on processing methods that are best able to prepare products for international sale. In both cases, the goal of the interventions is to boost production volume and improve quality control.

Steps must be taken to increase awareness among sector enterprises of the sanitary and phytosanitary ( SPS ) measures that must be taken for their products to satisfy food safety requirements in target markets. While one nec-essary step is voluntary compliance by producers, another is improving the quality certification process and upgrad-ing the Afghan Government’s ability to enforce quality standards.

In order to fund necessary upgrades in cultivation and processing capacity, options should be explored to improve access to finance for both farmers and processing enter-prises. Such financing could take the form of increased

microfinance lending, larger-scale commercial loans to pay for processing machinery, and equity investments in the sector to build new processing facilities and upgrade ex-isting ones. Improving processing capacity through invest-ment promotion will be crucial. One key activity will be the establishment of an agro-industrial park as a pilot initiative.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3 : RECLAIM AFGHANISTAN’S PROMINENT GLOBAL REPUTATION THROUGH IMPROVED PACKAGING AND SOUND MARKET INSERTION STRATEGIES.

To improve the position of Afghan dried fruits and nuts in the global market, it is vital to build the sector’s capacity to market and package its products. This involves tangible up-grades in packaging capacity as well as building soft skills in marketing and market analysis.

As part of the short-term strategy for the sector, oppor-tunities to increase sales in existing markets through more attractive packaging will be pursued. The development and dissemination of market intelligence is another component of this strategic objective, with capacity-building for sector enterprises on how to use available market research to iden-tify priority markets and time the sale of products to obtain optimal prices.

Another focus will be activities that improve in-market support services. This will include assisting sector enter-prises to participate in international trade fairs and exhibi-tions. Finally, targeted marketing efforts will be undertaken in selected regional and international markets to improve the positioning of the Afghan brand for dried fruits and nuts.

Figure 1 captures the dried fruits and nuts sector vision and strategic objectives.

Photo: Screenshots of video, AAT_NES_screenshots_promotional video (50).png

[ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ]

3

Figure 1 : Theory of change

Compete

Vision

Afghan dried fruits and nuts: a taste of Afghanistan

shared around the world

1. Increase volumes of production through enhanced

sector coordination, intensifica-tion of market-driven production

and reduced spoilage

3. Reclaim Afghanistan’s prominent global reputation

through improved packaging and sound market insertion strategies

2. Enhance food safety and quality assurance by fostering

the adoption of enhanced processing methods

Increase volumes of production and exports

Ensure food-safety

compliance of final products

Gradually upgrade the

quality of production

Optimize time of entry in key

markets

Improve packaging and

marketing

Position Afghan dried

fruits and nuts as a mid-level

/ premium product

An unorganized sector unable to fulfil its export potential, in spite of a vast range of globally demanded fruit and nut varieties

IMPA

CTST

RATE

GIC

OBJE

CTIV

ESSI

TUAT

ION

ANAL

YSIS

STRA

TEGI

C TH

RUST

SIM

PACT

• Inconsistent availability of raw materials and critical inputs

• Inadequate processing techniques

• Insufficient access to working capital

• Weak implementation of quality management and food safety practices

Connect

• Lack of timely delivery

• Limited packaging and branding of products

• Insufficient in-market support

• Weak provision of market intelligence services

• Weak coordination among value chain actors

Change

• Weak access to working and investment capital

• Poor investment in R&D

• Lack of expertise in marble and granite production

• Limited access to quarry and land permits

• Weak management skills

A competitive and organized sector responding to market demands for high-quality exports of dried fruits and nuts


[ TRAJECTORY OF THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN AND ENTRY POINTS FOR AFGHAN EXPORTERS ]

5

TRAJECTORY OF THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN AND ENTRY POINTS

FOR AFGHAN EXPORTERS

PRODUCT MAP

Considering the wide array of products that fall under the dried fruits and nuts sector, there is a broad spectrum of potential applications that go beyond the food industry. Research on alternative uses, particularly for nuts, continues to reveal opportunities for product diversification.

The food industry is the main market segment for dried fruits and nuts, and the primary use of them in this industry is as a raw material, in many cases in whole form as a snack food.

Figure 2 : Product map - Dried fruits and nuts

Dried fruits and nuts

Snack industry Confectionary industry

Other food industries

Bakery industry

Miscellaneous e.g. cosmetic

industry

Food processing industry

Breakfast cereal industry

Source : CBI ( 2017 )

6


Snack industry

The snack industry typically does minimal processing of dried fruits and nuts ; for instance, roasting or coating. This particular segment is dominated by branded products which are sold through retail outlets, although alternative distribu-tion channels such as e-commerce platforms continue to grow in popularity. These products are also used as a raw material in energy and snack bars ( in some cases branded as ‘breakfast bars’ ). These bars are in increasing demand in Western markets owing to their convenience.

Confectionary industry

The confectionary industry, particularly the chocolate indus-try, is one of the largest industrial users of nuts as a raw material ( especially pistachios and almonds ). Dried fruits are also becoming increasingly popular in a wide array of products, such as premium dark chocolate-coated apricots and peach chunks. A notable trend is the progressive shift to high-tech drying and processing technologies, with the objective of improving food safety and quality control. As both nuts and dried fruits are perceived as healthy, the con-fectionary industry promotes their use in products to appeal to health-conscious consumers.

Breakfast cereal industry

The breakfast cereal industry also uses dried fruits and nuts as ingredients in the production of biscuits, cereals and muesli. Raisins are used whole, while other types of dried fruits and nuts are sliced thinly ( in the case of almonds ) or cubed ( in the case of peaches and apricots ).

Baking industry

This industry is of particular relevance in Europe. Although typically bakeries obtain their ingredients from specialized European companies, some larger enterprises source their in-gredients directly from importers. The most relevant dried fruits and nuts for this segment are raisins, almonds and walnuts.

Other food applications

Dried fruits and nuts have countless applications in the food industry that cannot be easily labelled and categorized. Nuts are an especially popular ingredient in ice cream, for exam-ple, while also being used as milk substitutes ( almond milk ), cooking oil ( almond and pine nuts ) and food supplements ( protein powder ).

Miscellaneous

Nuts have diverse applications across different industries. Almonds, for example, are used in cosmetics and skin creams, and as a raw material in the pharmaceutical industry.

SWEET OUTLOOK FOR THE SECTOR AS GLOBAL DEMAND CONTINUES TO GROW

Consumers in both developed and developing countries are increasing their consumption of dried fruits and nuts with the rise of health-conscious eating habits. Dried fruits and nuts are characterized by high levels of unsaturated fats, vitamins and protein content. The latter is particularly important, as consumption trends are shifting towards protein-rich and protein-fortified products. The health benefits of dried fruits

and nuts are not only boosting their consumption as a snack ( in minimally processed form ) but also as a raw ingredient in confectionary and baked goods, and in gluten-free and vegan products. It should also be noted that, health benefits aside, dried fruits and nuts are delicious.

The growing popularity of ‘natural’ food products – i.e. individually-packaged or minimally processed organic



7

food products – is particularly consequential for the sec-tor in developed markets. Examples of such foods include snack-sized mixed dried fruit and nut packs, snack bars and breakfast bars infused with whole or minimally processed dried fruits and nuts, and breakfast cereals like muesli that use dried fruits and nuts as key ingredients.

While demand in developed countries is growing at a sustained pace, emerging markets, particularly in the Asia–Pacific region, are the fastest-growing markets worldwide. Besides health considerations, the expansion of the middle class in this region, with the resulting increase in incomes, means that dried fruits and nuts are more affordable.

Considering trends in different markets around the world, it is likely that global demand for dried fruits and nuts will continue to grow. This does not mean that Afghan dried fruits and nuts enterprises will automatically benefit from this global trend. Competition in this sector is intense, with major international suppliers like the United States able to ramp up production to meet the increase in demand. With the United States and other competitors engaging in industrial-scale farming and processing, and thereby benefiting from econo-mies of scale, they are currently able to undercut Afghan producers in both price and quality.

For Afghan dried fruits and nuts products to capture a larger share of the global market, the following factors must be taken into consideration.

Food safety requirements

The most basic requirement for export is food safety compli-ance. A common contaminant in dried fruits is mycotoxins, which have forced developed countries to impose special procedures for imports from developing countries. High lev-els of mycotoxins, particularly ochratoxins, have badly dam-aged prospects for Afghan raisin exports to EU countries.

Consistency and reliability of supply

To forge a strong relationship with international buyers, exporters must ensure reliability of supply. This is crucial whether the buyer is a retailer or food processor.

Bulk versus retail sale

Around the world, dried fruits and nuts enterprises have two options for selling their products. They can either sell their products in bulk to food processing companies or they can attempt to perform their own basic value addition. This could involve salting or sugar-coating the dried fruits and nuts and then packaging them for retail sale.

Packaging for retail sales

Directly related to the increase in health consciousness among consumers in developed markets is the aware-ness of portion control. As a result, dried fruits and nuts

are expected to be packaged in smaller, ready-to-eat forms ( e.g. mixed dried fruit and nut snack packs and snack bars ). While attractiveness and convenience are important, efforts to improve packaging for the sector should also aim to ex-tend product shelf life.

Increasing demand for transparency in global value chainsConsumers in developed markets are increasingly con-cerned about ethical business practices in global value chains. The dried fruits and nuts sector is not exempt from this trend. There is growing pressure from consumers for package labelling to not only include information on nutri-tion but also identify the origin of raw materials and provide assurances that raw materials were purchased with sustain-ability and fair trade principles in mind.

Evolving channels of distribution

A major global trend is the increasing popularity of e-com-merce platforms to sell and buy products. For sellers, this provides the opportunity to vastly broaden their potential consumer base. The Chinese e-market for nuts alone is esti-mated to be valued at US $ 1.2 billion. Globally, e-sales of nuts are growing at an estimated annual rate of 14 %. This trend is driven by wider access to the Internet, improvements in delivery services and higher levels of online impulse buying.

Improved processing technology

Dried fruit and nut enterprises are putting more effort into improving drying and processing technologies, in order to improve food safety and quality control. This includes a gradual shift from sun-drying techniques to more sophisti-cated technologies such as freeze-drying ( lyophilization ). There is significant demand from the bakery and breakfast cereal industries for freeze-dried fruits.

Concern over sugar and fats

While the conventional view is that dried fruits and nuts are inherently healthy, there are dissenting views that occasion-ally threaten to hurt sales. Consumers are often concerned about the sugar concentration in dried fruits, while nuts do contain notable levels of fats ( even if most nutritionists agree that they are healthy fats ). Industry players must monitor this trend and adjust accordingly by revising and adapting their packaging and marketing strategies.

Transportability

An important factor that impacts the export of dried fruits is the reliability and cost-effectiveness of transport. Air trans-port is more reliable but also more expensive. Land trans-port is slow compared with air transport.

8


A MIXED BAG OF PLAYERS AND STRATEGIES

Global imports of dried fruits and nuts are fairly diversi-fied across the world, with a handful of countries serving in the role of regional re-exporters. In Europe, for example, Germany and Spain purchase dried fruits and nuts in bulk, perform various types of value addition, and then supply their neighbours in the European market.

The United States is the leading importer of dried fruits and nuts in the world, with imports reaching US $ 2.3 billion in 2016. The United States predominantly imports cashew nuts ( accounting for more than 50 % of all global cashew imports ), which do not grow in the country.

The second-largest fruits and nuts importer is Germany, with an import total of US $ 2.1 billion in 2016. Germany is one of the major re-exporters for the European market

for nuts, few of which Germany produces domestically. A similar European re-exporter of nuts, especially almonds, is Spain. With US $ 1.1 billion in dried fruit and nut imports, Spain comes in as the fifth-largest importer worldwide.

Asia’s largest re-exporter is Hong Kong ( China ), with US $ 1.5 billion in dried fruits and nuts imports in 2016. Hong Kong ( China ) mainly supplies the Asian and Middle East markets, where there is great demand for nut-based snacks.

India is a large consumer of dried fruits and nuts, with 2016 imports standing at US $ 1.2 billion. Growth in imports has been driven by the country’s rapid economic develop-ment and population growth. Viet Nam, which is experienc-ing similar socioeconomic trends to India, is the sixth-largest importer of dried fruits and nuts.

Table 1 : Top world importers of dried fruits and nuts

ImportersImported value in 2016 (US$

thousands)Compound Annual Growth Rate

(CAGR) 2012–2016 (%)Share of world imports (%)

United States 2 314 863 11.95 9.54

Germany 2 158 803 6.32 6.75

Hong Kong ( China ) 1 527 137 -1.40 5.36

India 1 212 919 15.92 5.15

Spain 1 164 730 12.67 5.03

Viet Nam 1 138 173 154.28 4.77

Netherlands 1 079 435 5.76 4.63

United Kingdom 1 048 627 5.38 4.17

Italy 944 600 8.39 3.96

France 896 867 6.99 2.98

Source : ITC.

GROWTH OF EUROPE AND ASIA AS IMPORTING REGIONS

While global imports of dried fruits and nuts stood at US $ 10 billion 10 years ago, this number more than doubled by 2016, to US $ 22.6 billion. Europe and Asia account for 80 % of imported dried fruits and nuts worldwide. The highest growth in demand is occurring in Asia, with leading import-ers in the region including China, India and Viet Nam, all of which are experiencing rapid economic development. European countries, which are increasingly conscious about

maintaining a healthy and balanced diet, have increased their consumption of dried fruits and nuts in recent years ( with increased imports to meet demand ).

Another enticing market for dried fruits and nuts is the Middle East, which increased its imports to almost US $ 2 bil-lion between 2006 and 2016. Growth is driven by the United Arab Emirates ( UAE ), Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which pre-dominantly import nuts.


9

Figure 2 : Imports by region, 2006 and 2016 ( US $ thousands )

-

2.000.000

4.000.000

6.000.000

8.000.000

10.000.000

12.000.000

Europe Asia America Middle East Oceania Africa

2006 2016

Source : ITC.

LEADING IMPORTERS BY PRODUCT

While Afghanistan exports a wide variety of dried fruits and nuts, this section will take a focused look at the main prod-ucts within the sector in which Afghanistan is competitive globally. These include almonds, raisins, pistachios, dried apricots and dried figs. In the future, other products – in-cluding pine nuts, dried plums ( prunes ) and dried cherries – should be analysed in-depth as well.

Almonds

A major importer – and re-exporter – of almonds is Spain, with imports of US $ 741 million in 2016. Another major re-exporter is Germany, which had a global import share of 10 % in 2016. Asian countries such as India and Viet Nam import almonds for consumption rather than re-export, with global import shares of 11 % and 5 %, respectively. As previ-ously noted, Hong Kong ( China ) is the re-exporting hub in Asia, importing US $ 493 million of almonds in 2016.

Table 2 : Leading almond importers worldwide

Importers Imported value in 2016 ( US $ thousands ) CAGR ( % ) Share in world imports ( % )

Spain 740 867 20 11

India 693 109 16 11

Germany 644 960 9 10

Hong Kong ( China ) 493 082 -3 8

Viet Nam 332 811 270 5

Source : ITC.

10


Raisins

The world’s largest raisin importer is the United Kingdom, with imports of raisins reaching US $ 219 million in 2016. British consumers predominantly consume raisins origi-nating from Turkey. Other high-volume European import-ers were Germany and the Netherlands, with global import shares of 10 % and 6 % respectively. In East Asia, Japan is the leading raisin importer, with US $ 90 million in imports in 2016. In the West, Canada is the dominant raisin importer, with total imports of US $ 65 million in 2016.

Table 3 : Leading raisin importers worldwide


United Kingdom 218 666 -6 13

Germany 165 502 -3 10

Netherlands 99 072 -7 6

Japan 89 912 -1 6

Canada 64 899 -3 4

Source : ITC.

Pistachios

Three Asian economies are among the largest importers of pistachios worldwide : Hong Kong ( China ), Viet Nam and China. Hong Kong ( China ) was the largest market for pis-tachios in 2016, with an imported value of US $ 721 million

( 28 % of all world imports ). Impressive growth in demand came from Viet Nam, which received shipments of pistachi-os worth US $ 308 million in 2016. Another large consumer of pistachios is China, with 2016 imports valued at US $ 119 million. Germany and Italy import pistachios in bulk quanti-ties but much of this is set aside for value addition and then re-export to other European countries.

Table 4 : Leading pistachio importers worldwide


Hong Kong ( China ) 721 486 3 28

Viet Nam 308 745 587 12

Germany 260 980 -4 10

Italy 133 820 8 5

China 118 844 -3 5

Source : ITC.

Dried apricots

The United States is the largest importer of dried apricots, with US $ 57 million in imports representing 14 % of the global import total. American demand for dried apricots has in-creased steadily over the past five years. European coun-tries, including the United Kingdom of Great Britain and

Northern Ireland, France and Germany, follow the United States in volume of imports of dried apricots. In general, European demand for dried apricots has increased since 2012, increasing Europe’s global share of imports as a re-gion. Australia is another major importer of dried apricots, with imports valued at US $ 14 million in 2016.



11

Table 5 : Leading dried apricot importers worldwide


United States 57 344 4 14

United Kingdom 39 942 4 10

France 32 500 2 8

Germany 31 132 2 8

Australia 14 480 -2 4

Source : ITC.

Dried figs

France is the leading importer of dried figs in the world, with imports reaching US $ 60 million in 2016 ( 12 % of all dried fig imports globally ). France’s main supplier of dried figs is Turkey, which also exports significant quantities to the United Kingdom and Germany. The second-largest im-porter of dried figs is India. Within a short period, India has expanded its world import share to 11 %, with US $ 60 million in dried fig imports in 2016. After India, the country with the second-fastest growth in demand for dried figs is the United States. The Americans imported US $ 41 million of dried figs in 2016.

Table 6 : Leading dried fig importers worldwide


France 60 092 6 12

India 59 678 45 11

Germany 52 305 2 10

United States 41 044 26 8

United Kingdom 29 679 18 6

Source : ITC.

Pine nuts

Pine nuts are grouped into an “other” HS code ( 080290 ). Therefore, official import statistics specific to pine nuts are not available. Germany is the leading importer of pine nuts, with a volume of 5,334 metric tons in 2015. The second and third largest importers are USA and Italy, respectively, with 3,879 and 1949 metric tons. Other main markets are Netherlands, Australia and China1.

1.– International Nut And Dried Fruit Council ( 2017 ). Nuts & Dried Fruits Statistical Yearbook 2016/2017. Available from : https ://www.nutfruit.org/what-we-do/publications/technical-resources


Photo: dfn 19/3/18, pine-nuts-1732080.jpg

12


Box 1 : Specific products forecast

While the dried fruits and nuts sector is experiencing growth across all product types, there are significant trends to consider for certain products that have wide applications as raw materials.

Raisins : demand increasing for use as raw material and final product

• Demand is expected to increase for raisins, as stand-alone snacks and as a natural sweetener and substitute for cane sugar in baked products. In Europe, 70 % of raisins are used for further processing ( smaller raisins are preferred for biscuits ), while 30 % are re-packaged and sold to retailers or the food service industry.

• Organic raisin sales are increasing in the EU.

Almonds : product versatility spurs consumption along several fronts

• In emerging markets, almonds continue to be a preferred snack option, particularly in Asia–Pacific and the Middle East.

• In Europe and North America, health concerns about the con-sumption of traditional dairy milk is one of the main drivers increasing demand for almonds for the production of almond milk.

• Other relevant industries boosting almond demand are the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Medicinal and nutritional properties are among the main attributes sought by producers of cosmetics, personal care products ( e.g. skin creams ) and pharmaceutical products.

Dried apricots : high prices hurting demand but potential sweet deals exist in niche markets

• Turkey dominates world supply, with high prices ( resulting from limited sourcing options ) negatively impacting global demand.

• Less branding options for the sector, compared with raisins and almonds.

• Opportunities abound when it comes to the market for organic and naturally dried apricots. In the short term, there is a short-age of Turkish apricots in this niche market.

Pine nuts : product gaining momentum by increased usage in traditional meals, not only as snacks

• The global market for pine nuts is competitive and fragmented.• Pine nuts have multiple usages in sweet and flavory dishes

and in beverages, but also in the comestics industry.• Demand for pine nuts as a flavoring agent is a major trend

for the next years.

Pistachios : market characterized by high prices, with demand increasing in certain markets

• The United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran dominate supply of the global pistachio market. Both countries are highly competitive. The United States has demonstrated an edge in pricing, supply consistency and quick decision-making compared with the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is hardly surprising, considering that the Iranian pistachio industry has faced years of international sanctions related to its nuclear programme.

• American and Iranian pistachios differ in taste and size. The smaller size of Iranian pistachios is selling well, despite their higher prices.

• Consumption is expected to grow, in Asia generally and China in particular. Consumption is growing in the United States as well, making America both a major exporter and importer of pistachios.

Box 2 : Implications for Afghanistan

• The position of Afghanistan can improve as food manufactur-ers demand larger quantities of dried fruits and nuts as raw materials.

• Packaging is a crucial element to be considered by Afghan exporters who wish enter the retail sector.

• The growing preference for more natural foods and flavours requires producers to be responsive and, if necessary, limit

the use of preservatives and additives, particularly for the European market.

• Afghanistan needs to take advantage of preferential tariffs for Afghan products in key markets, such as the EU and United States.

• Trade routes to the fast-growing markets of India and China are expected to improve over the next several years, providing an important advantage for Afghan exporters.


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A FEW COUNTRIES DOMINATE GLOBAL SUPPLY FOR MOST PRODUCT TYPES

Worldwide exports of dried fruits and nuts have been in-creasing, reaching a total export value of nearly US $ 23 billion in 2016. This is more than double the 2006 total of US $ 10.5 billion. Between 2005 and 2016, global export vol-umes increased in nine out of 11 years, indicating positive long-term growth prospects.

The United States is the leading global supplier of dried fruits and nuts, increasing its export totals from US $ 3 billion in 2006 to almost US $ 8 billion in 2016. Viet Nam has dem-onstrated growing strength as a supplier over the past 10 years, becoming the second-largest exporter of dried fruits

and nuts in 2011. In 2016, Viet Nam’s total dried fruit and nut exports reached US $ 2.3 billion.

Other top suppliers of dried fruit and nut products are Turkey and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Top European export-ers such as Germany, Spain and the Netherlands operate primarily as re-exporters, engaging in various types of value addition prior to sending shipments of dried fruits and nuts off to other destinations. Based on excellent climate and soil conditions to grow fresh fruits and nuts, other Asian coun-tries, including India, have improved their capacity in drying and processing to become exporters of dried fruits and nuts.

Figure 3 : World exported value of dried fruits and nuts, 2005–2016 ( US $ thousands )

-

5.000.000

10.000.000

15.000.000

20.000.000

25.000.000

30.000.000

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Source : ITC.

Table 7 : Leading dried fruit and nut exporters worldwide

Exporter Exported value in 2016 ( US $ thousands ) CAGR ( % ) Share in world imports ( % )

United States 7 937 302 4.21 34.56

Viet Nam 2 300 878 12.10 10.02

Turkey 1 176 897 -0.70 5.12

Islamic Republic of Iran 908 347 -4.03 3.95

Germany 883 681 14.32 3.85

Spain 822 798 11.21 3.58

India 812 717 -2.18 3.54

Hong Kong ( China ) 802 734 -1.69 3.49

Netherlands 728 754 9.48 3.17

Mexico 662 760 22.66 2.89

Source : ITC.

14


LEADING EXPORTERS BY PRODUCTS

Almonds

The world’s largest exporter of almonds is the United States, owing to its optimal climate for production and industrial-scale agricultural operations. American almond exports constitute 68 % of all world exports of almonds. The coun-try has benefited from the international shift in preferences towards healthy, nutritious food. Other important exporters of almonds are Germany, Spain and Hong Kong ( China ), which serve as major re-exporters in Europe and Asia.

Another important producer of almonds is Australia, which has one of the highest growth rates in almond ex-ports. Like to the United States, Australia’s climate is par-ticularly suitable for almond production. Australia directly supplies to Asian end users as well as re-exporting hubs in Asia and Europe.

Table 8 : Leading almond exporters worldwide

Exporters Exported value in 2016 ( US $ thousands ) CAGR ( % ) Share in world exports ( % )

United States 4 286 723 7 68

Spain 641 132 15 10

Australia 346 628 22 5

Hong Kong ( China ) 268 425 -6 4

Germany 123 636 13 2

Source : ITC.

Raisins

Globally, export volumes of raisins are declining. The world’s largest exporter of raisins is Turkey, with an export total in 2016 of US $ 426 million ( a global export share of 27 % ). The second-largest raisin exporter is the United States, with a world export share of 20 %. Both of these top raisin exporters

have seen their export volumes decrease in recent years. Other raisin exporters are Chile, South Africa and the Islamic Republic of Iran, all of which provide excellent conditions for raisin production. Again, the trend among these leading raisin exporters is declining export volumes, with the lone exception being South Africa.

Table 9 : Leading raisin exporters worldwide


Turkey 426 082 -5 27

United States 323 083 -4 20

Chile 116 900 -10 7

South Africa 99 306 10 6

Islamic Republic of Iran 92 964 -16 6

Source : ITC.



15

Pistachios

As in the case of almonds, the United States is the largest producer and exporter of pistachios. At present, the United States is responsible for approximately 39 % of all pistachio exports globally. The Islamic Republic of Iran is the second-largest pistachio exporter but Iranian suppliers have suffered in recent years due to sanctions and being outperformed by their American competitors. Despite these hurdles, the

country has kept its dominant global position by serving Asian and Middle Eastern markets such as Hong Kong ( China ), India and Lebanon, which the sanctions did not affect. Other main exporters of pistachios are Hong Kong ( China ), Germany and the Netherlands, which are re-ex-porters for their respective regions. As demand for healthy, organic food increases, both imports to and exports from the re-exporting hubs have risen accordingly.

Table 10 : Leading pistachio exporters worldwide


United States 1 078 047 3 39

Islamic Republic of Iran 669 404 -3 24

Hong Kong ( China ) 393 046 5 14

Germany 187 329 15 7

Netherlands 114 246 5 4

Source : ITC.

Dried apricots

Globally, dried apricot exports have remained stable over the past five years. A pioneer in dried apricot exports is Turkey, which boasts a remarkable 76 % share of dried apri-cot exports worldwide. Turkey exports its dried apricots to a well-established network of international buyers. Germany is the re-exporting hub in Europe, holding a global export

share of 2 %. France and the United States are re-export-ers and producers of dried apricots but their global export share is rather small and declining. Uzbekistan is a rising player in the global dried apricot trade, and is one of the few countries that recorded positive export growth in re-cent years.

Table 11 : Leading dried apricot exporters worldwide

ExportersExported value in 2016 ( US $

thousands )CAGR ( % ) Share in world exports ( % )

Turkey 289 106 -1 76

Germany 9 179 -4 2

France 8 715 -1 2

Uzbekistan 8 490 5 2


Source : ITC.

Dried figs

Turkey is the leading producer and exporter of dried figs, with exports worth US $ 250 million in 2016 ( 51 % of global exports ). Demand for low-sugar healthy snacks has con-tributed to the increase in demand for dried figs, which has disproportionately benefited Turkey. The second most im-portant producer and exporter of dried figs is Afghanistan,

which has demonstrated remarkable growth over the past five years. Afghanistan has increased its market share to 12 %, with US $ 60 million in exports in 2016. Other leading exporters are Australia and the United States, which benefit from broad swathes of territory suitable for dried fig produc-tion. The Netherlands is the leading re-export hub for dried figs in Europe, with total exports in 2016 of US $ 17 million.

16


Table 12 : Leading dried fig exporters worldwide


Turkey 249 570 6 51

Afghanistan 59 883 57 12

Australia 23 301 3 5


Netherlands 17 237 -2 4

Source : ITC.

Pine nuts

Official global export statistics specific to pine nuts are not available. China is the world leading exporter with a 78 % share of the market. Germany and USA are the main target destinations for Chinese exports of this product. China is followed by Pakistan ( 7 % ), and Turkey ( 7 % ), as leading ex-porters of pine nuts.2

2.– International Nut and Dried Fruit Council ( 2017 )

MAIN DRIED FRUITS AND NUTS SUPPLIERS AND STRATEGIES

UNITED STATES

The United States is the largest exporter of dried fruits and nuts, with US $ 7.9 billion in total exports in 2016. Sales are driven by concerted marketing efforts, including television advertising campaigns. Hong Kong ( China ) is the largest re-cipient of American dried fruits and nuts shipments, with im-ports valued at US $ 1.2 billion, followed by Spain ( US $ 691 million ) and Germany ( US $ 530 million ).

Almonds account for more than 50 % of the American dried fruits and nuts export basket. According to the Almond Board of California, almond yields increased to roughly 916,700 tons in 2016 / 17. The Californian almond industry is investing in a global market development programme, with forecasts indicating a 25 % increase in production over the next three years.

Pistachios and walnuts both represent around 13 % of America’s export basket for the sector. America’s growing ex-ports of pistachios are driven by lower pricing compared with competitors, strong promotion and greater global demand. Notable demand comes from the Chinese market, particu-larly near Chinese New Year. Given the well-established

links to the Chinese market, American pistachio exports are expected to grow further on the back of demand from Asia. American walnuts enjoy a reputation for their excellent qual-ity worldwide. As with pistachios, China is one of the top markets for American walnuts.

The United States also exports dried fruits and is the world’s second-largest exporter of raisins. In 2016, outgo-ing shipments of raisins totalled US $ 323 million. Although many regions of the United States benefit from ample sup-plies of water and lots of sunlight ( both of which favour raisin production ), droughts in recent years have threatened the American dried fruits and nuts sector. This has especially been the case in the sector’s production hub of California.

Enabling factors Deterring factors

• High reputation for quality• Suitable climate on the west coast for the

dried fruits and nuts industry• Strong established trade networks• Benefited from sanctions against Islamic

Republic of Iran in pistachio exports

• Tighter water regulations and Californian droughts have affected dried fruit and nut production

Photo: EPAA pictures, IMG_1851.JPG


17

TURKEY

The third-largest exporter of dried fruits and nuts is Turkey, with exports of US $ 1.2 billion in 2016. Turkey is a main sup-plier to Europe, with destination markets in 2016 including the United Kingdom ( US $ 158 million ), Germany ( US $ 137 million ), France ( US $ 98 million ) and Italy ( US $ 96 million ). A destination market for Turkey outside of Europe is the United States, with exports of dried fruits and nuts valued at US $ 70 million.

Turkey’s international success in dried fruits and nuts exports is not only the result of an excellent reputation for its products’ taste but also its strong exporters’ associa-tions. The Aegean Dried Fruits Exporters’ Association is very active in product promotion, including participation in the European Dried Fruit Meeting and other international trade fairs and exhibitions. The Association has also taken proac-tive steps to ensure food safety compliance, in part by con-ducting research on sanitary and quality control methods during processing.

Through the Dried Fruits Promotion Committee of Turkey, the industry engages in international promotion activities. These efforts have paid off, with Turkish exports showing impressive market diversification. The fact that Turkey is able to export high volumes of product with excellent quality con-trol and food safety compliance are other factors that explain Turkish dominance in the global market.

Turkey is a major exporter of dried fruits, with raisins as its top export in this category. Turkey exported US $ 426 mil-lion of raisins in 2016, followed by dried apricots ( US $ 289 million ) and figs ( US $ 289 million ). Top export destination markets for Turkish dried fruits were all in Europe, including the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and France.

The Aegean Dried Fruits Exporters’ Association expects that exports of Turkish raisins will continue to increase, thanks to sustained demand from European buyers. Despite erratic weather conditions that have negatively impacted some crops in recent years, Turkey’s agriculture sector is resilient enough to continue to meet demand. In the future, Turkey hopes to expand exports of dried apricots to China.

Nuts have a much smaller place in Turkey’s export bas-ket. Turkey is among the three world exporters of pine nuts, after Pakistan and China. Most Turkish exports of pine nuts are destined to European countries, such as Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Spain. Turkey’s most valuable nut ex-ports are almonds, with US $ 66 million in exports in 2016. Pistachio exports were close behind, with US $ 60 million in exports the same year. The fluctuating value of curren-cies, especially in relation to the United States dollar and euro, can have a major impact on the price-sensitive global dried fruits and nuts market. In 2016, the devaluation of the Turkish lira against the United States dollar and the euro gave Turkey a competitive edge against other international pistachio suppliers.


• High brand recognition : known for high-quality of dried fruits and nuts

• Extensive experience and wide buyer network in dried fruits and nuts exports

• Exchange rate fluctuations of the Turkish lira against the United States dollar and the euro influ-ences exports of dried fruits and nuts

ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN

The Islamic Republic of Iran exported US $ 908 million of dried fruits and nuts in 2016, with Hong Kong ( China ) as its most significant export destination ( US $ 244 million ). Iranian export performance has experienced declined since peak-ing in 2014 with US $ 1.3 billion in exports. The country’s sec-ond-largest export destination in 2016 was India, receiving US $ 104 million of Iranian dried fruits and nuts. Following India, Germany is another major destination market ( US $ 71 million ), followed by Spain ( US $ 56 million ). Pistachios com-prise around 74 % of the Iranian export basket for the sec-tor, which is unsurprising considering that the country is the world’s second-largest producer.

In recent years, sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran have led to a shift in export destinations away from Western markets and towards Asian markets, including Hong Kong ( China ), India, Viet Nam and China. The Islamic Republic of Iran has effectively promoted pistachio exports by emphasizing the rigid quality control measures em-ployed by its sector enterprises, reinforcing the high global reputation of Iranian pistachios. Other factors contributing to Iranian success in this sector are efficient operational man-agement, warehouse management, and advanced process-ing hardware and methods.

In 2016, the Islamic Republic of Iran also recorded im-pressive export figures for dates ( US $ 97.5 million ), raisins ( US $ 92 million ) and almonds ( US $ 26 million ). According to the Iran Dried Fruit Exporters’ Association, the Iranian raisin crop increased by 13 % in 2016 compared with the previous season. The Islamic Republic of Iran was the top supplier of raisins to Iraq and the Russian Federation in 2016, in part explained by the shift in Iranian exports to the East, where international sanctions are less relevant.


• Long history as a global pistachio exporter

• Second-largest pistachio producer after the United States

• Export promotion support from the Iran Trade Promotion Organization

• Sanctions on trade to major markets• Improvements in quality control

are required along the production chain to meet the high standards of buyers

• Nationwide drought and water scarcity affecting production

18


GERMANY

Germany’s exports of dried fruits and nuts stood at US $ 883 million in 2016. Germany’s export destinations in 2016 were primarily focused on the European market, including France ( US $ 123 million ), the United Kingdom ( US $ 121 million ), Italy ( US $ 90 million ) and the Netherlands ( US $ 85 million ).

Pistachios are not grown in Germany but that has not stopped the country from being a major pistachio

re-exporter. Germany relies on Iranian and American im-ports to satisfy domestic demand, while also purchasing additional quantities for further processing, repackaging, rebranding and then re-export. Most of the pistachios that undergo value addition in Germany are then exported to other destinations in Europe. Germany is also a major re-exporter of almonds, with export value reaching US $ 635 million in 2016. Germany is less interested in re-exporting dried fruits. Raisins were Germany’s largest dried fruit ex-port, with export sales of just US $ 31 million in 2016.


• Strong national brand• Established, strong channels

for export in Europe

• Dependence on imports from the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States

• Embargo on the Islamic Republic of Iran caused import fluctuation of pistachios

SPAIN

The second-largest dried fruit and nut exporter in Europe is Spain, with a sector export total of US $ 823 million in 2016. Spanish exports in 2016 were primarily destined for the European market, including Germany ( US $ 181 million ), Italy ( US $ 142 million ) and the United Kingdom ( US $ 129 million ). Outside of Europe, the United States was the most important export destination for Spain, with sector exports reaching US $ 51 million in 2016.

While Spain is not itself a major producer of almonds, it has managed a profitable trade in re-exporting them. Around 87 % of Spain’s imported almonds, of which roughly 90 % come from the United States, undergo value addition before being re-exported to other European markets.


• Strong national brand• Established, strong networks for

export in Europe

• Dependence on nut imports from other countries for re-export

• Compet i t i on w i th German re-exporters

Box 3 : Implications for Afghanistan

• Timing market entry for raw pistachios can provide Afghan traders with the opportunity to obtain peak prices, as this crop is vulnerable to fluctuations in supply from other global suppliers.

• Strong brand positioning will require significant investments by Afghan exporters. Most competitors are well-established

and have engaged in highly targeted marketing in prime destination markets.

• Building trust with international buyers will require production consistency in terms of both volumes and quality control, with food safety compliance a major priority.


[ AFGHANISTAN’S DRIED FRUITS AND NUTS VALUE CHAIN ]

19

AFGHANISTAN’S DRIED FRUITS AND NUTS VALUE CHAIN

CURRENT VALUE CHAIN OPERATIONS

PRODUCTION OF DRIED FRUITS AND NUTSThe value chain starts with the fruit and nut farmers drying their own produce. Key actors in the production stage are smallholders, who are responsible for the majority of ag-ricultural production in Afghanistan. Only raisins are dried in specific processing factories, which involves washing, winnowing and destalking of grapes. These factories are owned by businessmen who both export raisins themselves and rent out their facilities to regional grape producers for processing.

Typical Afghan fruits that are suitable for drying include grapes ( raisins ), apricots, figs, plums ( prunes ), cherries and mulberries. Afghanistan is also a major regional producer of melons of various kinds, although minimal drying of this product exists at present ( if any at all ). Typical nuts are pis-tachios, almonds and walnuts. Fruit production happens all over the country, with Nangarhar Province renowned for high-quality apricots and Herat Province for grapes. Famous regions for nuts are Nangarhar, Paktia and Ghazni.

After the harvesting stage, farmers assess domestic de-mand and set aside a portion of their crop to be sold in its fresh state and a second portion to be dried. Compared with dried fruits, fresh produce obtains higher prices on the do-mestic market ( and even higher prices if it can be exported ). Therefore only fresh fruit that cannot be sold domestically or exported is dried. Approximately 75 % of total yields of fruit are sold in fresh form, while the remaining amount is dried or consumed at home.

The main production inputs to convert fresh fruit to dry fruit include :

� Fresh fruit � Dry floor or ideally a drying house, where fruits and nuts

are dried and stored until the products are ready for sale � Drying mats or bamboo trellises on which fruits and nuts

are laid for drying � Bamboo cord for flattening the fresh produce

� Sun for natural and traditional drying � Cutting tools and pressing machines for shaping the

product to marketable size and shapes � Solution of potassium carbonate, which enhances drying

quality and speed, especially when drying grapes.

At present, there are deficiencies related to several of these sector inputs. This starts with the primary input of the fruit itself, considering that the best quality fruit is sold in its fresh form. This leaves the lower-quality fruits, often irregular or smaller size, for drying. Due to limited financial resources to fund upgrades in technology and purchase potassium carbonate, dried fruit and nut farmers rely on traditional dry-ing methods. This involves sun-drying on the ground ( using mats, preferably ) and on bamboo trellises, which results in products which barely meet international quality standards ( if at all ).

DRIED FRUIT AND NUT PROCESSING

Currently, the majority of dried fruits and nuts produced by smallholders are sold directly to local consumers without any value addition. Only a small portion of dried produce reaches local urban centres, and a smaller portion still is exported abroad. Dried fruits and nuts are generally aggre-gated by middlemen who will pick up products from farmers and sell them to processing facilities or wholesale hubs. Some farmers have direct commercial relationships with enterprising Pakistani traders who wish to purchase directly from the source.


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VALUE ADDITION FACILITIES

Processing methods for dried fruits and nuts vary from product to product. In general, processing is performed as follows :

� Simple cleaning ( removing sand, dust and stones ) � Further drying based on thickness of cuts and shapes of

dried pieces as well as variety of fruit or nut � Thorough washing of dried produce � Grading � Packaging.

Processing of dried nuts also involves shelling and roasting.

Due to the deficiencies of processing facilities in Afghanistan, the majority of the dried fruits and nuts make their way to Pakistan with little ( if any ) value addition. This is an enormous loss for the sector ( and the Afghan economy in general ), as Pakistani processing facilities are able to cap-ture a large share of the profits from Afghan dried fruits and nuts by way of value addition.

DISTRIBUTION

In the rare case that dried produce enjoys value addition and is processed, local small dealers transport final prod-ucts to local and export traders.

DOMESTIC MARKET

The trading channel between Jalalabad and Peshawar is the main hub for local traders because it has access to both Afghan and Pakistani markets. In most cases, local traders gain a margin of 5 %. Traders on the border with Peshawar enjoy geographical advantages, bringing opportunities for

higher margins. There is little capacity for extended storage so traders need to sell their products as quickly as possible to cope with storage shortages. When dried fruits and nuts are sold domestically, the products are transported by mid-dlemen to local retailers.

INTERNATIONAL MARKET

Some local traders channel the product to export traders to benefit from higher margins in Pakistani markets. Export traders consolidate produce and wholesale it not only to Pakistan but also other international markets. Local traders also cooperate with Pakistani traders, who also have direct contact with regional Afghan collectors and small farmers. Currently around 30 small export traders are active at the border and trade around 5–6 million tons of dried fruit and nuts per year. In 2015, top export destinations for Afghan dried fruit and nuts were – besides neighbouring Pakistan – India, the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Canada, the United States, Germany and Belarus.

Afghanistan exported US $ 66 million of dried grapes to international markets. The majority of raisins went to India. The second most-traded dried fruit was figs with US $ 60 million in exports.3 As for grapes, India was the number one destination for fig exports. Further exported varieties were dried apricots. Pistachios were the most exported dried nuts with an export value of US $ 25 million, while India was again the major buyer. Almonds were the second-largest export in dried nuts, with US $ 12 million in exports of shelled almonds and US $ 4.8 million in exports of in-shell almonds.4 Walnuts and Brazil nuts were other varieties exported by Afghan in 2015.

3.– Source : ITC calculations based on United Nations Comtrade statistics ( mirror data ).4.– Source : ITC calculations based on United Nations Comtrade statistics ( mirror data ).



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22


FRAGMENTED PRODUCTION ECOSYSTEM LEADS TO OPPORTUNISTIC RATHER THAN DEMAND-DRIVEN SECTOR PRODUCTION

Most fruit and nut production in Afghanistan is carried out by smallholders. Few commercial orchards exist, which limits opportunities to achieve economies of scale and prevents the standardization of yields. Because higher profits are achieved by fruit farmers through the sale of fresh produce, the pro-duction of dried fruit is almost an afterthought, as a means to commercialize produce that the fresh fruit market cannot absorb. The consequence for the sector is that dried fruit pro-duction has not been a priority, with production not undertak-en in a focused, systematic fashion. The producers growing fruit and nuts – and even the traders taking produce to mar-ket – have minimal knowledge about what varieties of dried fruits and nuts earn premium prices in international markets.

LOW LEVELS OF TECHNOLOGY CHARACTERIZE AFGHAN DRIED FRUIT AND NUT PROCESSING

In Afghanistan, processing of dried fruits and nuts is char-acterized by traditional methods and low levels of technol-ogy. The ability to upgrade processing capacity is limited by enabling infrastructure ( or lack thereof ), particularly the availability and cost of power. Access to finance is another constraint limiting sector development, with most farmers and processing enterprises unable to fund purchases of advanced machinery.

As a consequence, the use of traditional techniques – with little consideration for the requirements and prefer-ences of the international market – leads to deficiencies in uniformity and quality, as well as serious food safety con-cerns. With that said, traditional techniques are relatively easy to perform and cost-effective. Notably, women play a prominent role in postharvest activities.

Box 4 : Women in the dried fruits and nuts value chain

Women are heavily involved in the Afghan dried fruits and nuts value chain. At the production level, they are often responsible for watering, weeding, pruning and harvesting in smallholder orchards. At the postharvest level, women in rural areas are often responsible for drying grapes, sorting them – if this activity is carried out at all – and packing them in sacks.

In urban areas where most processing facilities are located, women work as wage labourers, primarily at the sorting stage. Few women are involved in wholesaling and trading activities at the village level, as a result of the culturally conservative views about the role of women in commercial activities outside the home. Considering the critical role of women in drying, sorting and packaging dried fruits and nuts, tailored support services, preferably provided by other women, should be provided to them to improve the quality of outputs at the postharvest level.

In the case of raisin processing, there are approximately 30 processing facilities at the national level ( though how many are operational remains in question ). Despite the existence of these processing centres, most postharvest processing is carried out at the farm level by smallholders themselves.

Two main drying methods are used in Afghanistan, which are shade-dry and sun-dry techniques. Shade-drying is es-sentially used for green raisins or kishmish, while sun-drying techniques are used to process red and dark raisins, among which Aftabi raisins are the main kind. When raisins are dried through traditional methods, further processing is minimal. One additional step is manually pounding heavy sacks of raisins against the ground in order to remove the stems.

In contrast, raisins that are processed in factories are washed and winnowed, and finally sprayed with paraffin or seed oil. Most processing companies that handle raisins also process other dried fruits and nuts, such as apricots,

figs, walnuts and pistachios. Traditionally, apricots undergo a similar processing routine to red raisins, in which they are sun-dried on rooftops or on the ground. Figs are partially dried before being compressed and threaded onto a rope.

For the processing of most nuts, the first step typically in-volves removing the nut ( shell intact ) from the outer hull ( also commonly referred to as the ‘husk’ ). Afterwards, nuts should be graded and sorted by size ; however, few Afghan traders perform this task. Depending on the agreement with the buy-er, nuts can further be shelled through manual or mechani-cal methods. In Afghanistan, shelling is generally carried out manually by women using hammers. After being separated from their shells, nuts are roasted in a controlled manner.

Table 13 summarizes the main processing steps for dried fruits and nuts, the approximate drying time and deficiencies that can result from each step. While these methods are highly cost-effective ( sunlight is free, after all ),


23

they often prevent Afghan dried fruits and nuts from enter-ing highly profitable – but also highly regulated – markets. Drying times are also relatively longer using traditional meth-ods compared with methods employed by more developed competitors, including industrial machinery and chemicals that speed up the drying process.

Since most production and postharvest activities are done on a small scale, Afghan dried fruits and nuts traders must aggregate products from many different sources to accrue volumes large enough for bulk sales. This results in an unsorted mix of types and qualities ( and moisture con-tent ), thereby diminishing interest from international buyers. On the international market ( and especially in developed

markets ), a key criterion for sales is consistency. Buyers may not always be interested in premium-grade dried fruits and nuts, but whatever grade and product type they order, they do not want surprises when they open their shipment for initial inspection.

At the current processing levels, there is significant po-tential to increase the value of Afghan dried fruits and nuts by upgrading processing methods and technology, where appropriate. The use of certain fruit dipping mixtures, such as food-grade potassium carbonate, can potentially reduce the drying time of grapes by half. Consequently, Kishmish Khana, for instance, would have double the capacity to dry grapes in the same amount of time.

Table 13 : Main processing methods

Product Processing step Approximate drying time Common deficiencies

Green raisins ( kishmish )

Shade-dried in Kishmish Khana ( raisin houses ) : rooms made from mud bricks and wood sticks 30 days Contamination :

dust / dirt, ochratoxin A

Variability of quality and size

Red raisins Sun-dried, ideally using a mat underneath, often

mixed with dust to help them dry 15–20 days

Apricots Sun-dried, on top of a mat 4–12 daysContamination :

grit and dust

FigsPartially dried, then machine-pressed and thread onto

a long rope 4–8 daysContamination :

dust

Nuts ( pistachios, almonds )

De-hulling ( manually )Shelling ( depending on the trading agreement ) -

Kernel damage,aflatoxins

UNMET FINANCIAL NEEDS ACROSS THE VALUE CHAINThe dried fruits and nuts sector requires specific types of working and investment capital across the value chain. The following are the main financial needs of value chain actors :

� Production stage : At the production level, farmers re-quire financing to pursue long-term strategies, as certain fruits and nuts have medium-to-long term maturation pe-riods, e.g. almonds and grapes. Moreover, fruit and nut production has high seasonal working capital require-ments, in addition to storage service requirements.

� Aggregation stage : In Afghanistan, the nut harvesting season is short ( July to November ). Thus, traders require large amounts of working capital to lock in low prices prior to the harvest by paying farmers cash in advance.

� Processing stage : Sector enterprises have limited ac-cess to investment capital in order to establish or up-grade processing plants. This issue is aggravated by the low availability and high cost of private land.

� Trade finance : Afghan exporters operate with suboptimal levels of working capital and thus they are less competi-tive than exporters from competitor countries that can

access trade financing. For example, there are limited insurance options for producers or traders and limited ex-port financing facilities, including limited line of credit and no escrow accounts or financial dispute settlement mech-anism between Afghan exporters and overseas buyers.

Lastly, there is a need to increase awareness of existing short-term financing opportunities, which are available through development partners such as the Agricultural Credit Enhancement Programme.

PACKAGING AND BRANDING REMAIN MAJOR SECTOR WEAKNESSESThe Afghan dried fruits and nuts sector lags significantly behind its major global competitors in packaging, market-ing and branding capacity. At present, Afghan dried fruit and nut products are mostly packed in wooden crates and plastic bags in preparation for bulk sale within the region ( primarily to Pakistan and India ). For Afghanistan’s neigh-bours to the south, packaging is not an issue ; many bulk shipments headed to Pakistan and India will undergo further

24


value addition at processing facilities before sale to end consumers.

While acceptable for Pakistan and India, this casual ap-proach to packaging is a major barrier to entry for Afghan traders eyeing highly profitable but highly regulated markets in the East and West. Poor packaging reduces the attractive-ness of products to buyers and fails to prevent damage to

goods during transportation. The result is that neighbouring countries, particularly Pakistan, capture profits from value addition through packaging operations. Pakistani process-ing enterprises have little incentive to promote the origin of Afghan-supplied dried fruits and nuts, and thus the oppor-tunity to promote the Afghan brand in regional and global markets is lost.

AFGHANISTAN’S CURRENT EXPORT PERFORMANCE

With an export value of US $ 183 million,5 the dried fruits and nuts sector accounted for almost 23 % of Afghanistan’s ex-port basket in 2016 ( more than any other sector ). The fol-lowing section examines Afghanistan’s export performance in the sector, with particular attention to trends between

5.– Based on United Nations Comtrade mirror data.

2008 and 2016. Overall, exports in the sector have declined in general since 2008 but have picked up in recent years. In terms of market diversification, Afghanistan remains ex-tremely weak, with most dried fruits and nuts heading to India, followed by a handful of other destination markets. The following section will only cover the leading export prod-ucts for the sector, including almonds, raisins, pistachios, dried apricots and dried figs.

Figure 5 : Afghan exports of dried fruits and nuts, 2008–2016 ( US $ thousands )

-

50.000

100.000

150.000

200.000

250.000

300.000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Source : ITC.

The export basket of dried fruits and nuts in Afghanistan was worth roughly US $ 257 million in 2008.6 The value of the basket was US $ 183 million in 2016, a decrease of approxi-mately US $ 74 million. Raisins comprised more than a third of the export basket in both 2008 and 2016, while in 2016, the second most-exported product was dried figs, with an export share of 33 %. Dried fig exports from Afghanistan

6.– Source : ITC calculations based on United Nations Comtrade statistics ( direct data ).

owe their growth mainly to increased demand from India. In 2016, pistachios and almonds remained among the most popular nuts exported from Afghanistan, and ranked fourth and fifth in the most recent export basket. Other exported varieties are cashews and walnuts, as well as some Brazil nuts. Dried apricots, and prunes are other varieties contrib-uting to the sector’s export basket.


25

Figure 6 : Afghan export basket, dried fruits and nuts, 2008

Dried grapes

37%

Almonds20%

Pistachios16%

Dried apricots

7%

Dried figs6%

Cashew6%

Walnuts5%

Nuts3%

Brazil nuts0%

Figure 7 : Afghan export basket, dried fruits and nuts, 2016

Dried grapes

38%

Dried figs 33%

Pistachios 14%

Almonds 9%

Dried apricots

5%

Dried prunes

0%

Other 1%

Source : ITC.

India was the most important export destination for the Afghan dried fruits and nuts sector both in 2008 and in 2016. According to consultations and desk research, significant unreported trade to Pakistan has been taking place and should be taken into account. Additional export destina-tions are the Russian Federation, and Central Asian and West European countries, namely Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus. However, exports to these regions have been un-stable in recent years. Turkey – which is the world’s greatest dried fruit exporter – ranked third as an export destination in 2008 but declined in 2016. Germany was another re-export hub for Afghan dried fruits and nuts in 2008 and 2016, and served as a gateway to the European market. Afghan prod-ucts have started to receive better appreciation in Middle Eastern countries ( UAE and Saudi Arabia ), where they enjoy an excellent reputation for their unique taste and quality.


26


Figure 8 : Afghanistan’s top 10 export destinations 2008 ( US $ thousands )

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Figure 9 : Afghanistan’s top 10 export destinations 2016 ( US $ thousands )

-

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Almonds

Afghan exports of almonds reached US $ 14.8 million in 2016, with roughly 89 % of this amount destined for India. A growing population and rapid economic development has increased Indian demand for dried fruits and nuts in general, from which Afghanistan is benefiting. Following India, Pakistan was the second-largest destination market for Afghan almonds, as most remaining Afghan almonds reached Pakistan, according to official statistics. Small amounts of Afghan almonds were exported to Europe ( Germany and the United Kingdom ) and Bahrain.

Table 14 : Afghanistan’s top five export destinations for almonds

Importers Exported value in 2016 ( US $ thousands ) CAGR ( % ) Share of Afghan exports ( % )

India 14 832 42 89

Pakistan 1 806 45 11

Germany 36 64 0

United Kingdom 10 0

Bahrain 7 0

Source : ITC.

Photo: By jules / stonesoup (natural almonds) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons


27

Raisins

Raisins are the most famous export product within the Afghan dried fruits and nuts industry. As with almonds, the vast majority of Afghan raisin exports ( 79 % ) were shipped to the fast-growing Indian market. Afghan raisins also en-joy an excellent reputation in the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan. Germany, which is one of the most important re-export hubs in Europe, has steadily increased its imports of Afghan raisins.

Table 15 : Afghanistan’s top five export destinations for raisins


India 54 358 47 79

Russian Federation 5 981 -14 9

Pakistan 3 215 179 5

Kazakhstan 2 367 61 3

Germany 889 34 1

Source : ITC.

Pistachios

Pistachios were the most valuable variety of nut for Afghan exporters in 2016. Again, India was the leading destina-tion market for this product, with 92 % of Afghan pistachios reaching India in 2016. Saudi Arabia imported Afghan pis-tachios worth approximately US $ 1.7 million in 2016. The United States, Italy and Canada were also importers of Afghan pistachios but in marginal volumes.

Table 16 : Afghanistan’s top five export destinations for pistachios


India 23 632 58 92

Saudi Arabia 1 726 7

United States 282 37 1

Italy 88 0

Canada 3 0

Source : ITC.



28


Dried apricots

Roughly US $ 7.1 million of dried apricots supplied the Indian market in 2016, with demand increasing rapidly between 2012 and 2016. Pakistan is the second-largest importer of Afghan dried apricots, with imports likely to top US $ 1 mil-lion in 2017, considering the rapid increase in demand. The United States and Canada are both current importers of Afghan apricots, with growth in imports indicating a posi-tive future. Meanwhile, Afghan apricot exports to Germany have declined in the past five years, with Afghan products facing stiff competition from Turkish suppliers.

Table 17 : Afghanistan’s top five export destinations for dried apricots


India 7 124 31 81

Pakistan 904 76 10

Canada 302 40 3


Germany 109 -7 1

Source : ITC.

Dried figs

Nearly all Afghan exports of dried figs ( 99 % ) were sent to India, with a recorded value of US $ 59.5 million in 2016. As with dried apricots, Afghan dried figs have penetrated the American and German markets, though the total value re-mains marginal. Considering the high growth rate of Afghan dried fig imports in Canada, the United States and Germany, it is likely that all three of these markets will become increas-ingly significant destination markets for Afghan dried fruits and nuts in the future.

Table 18 : Afghanistan’s top five export destinations for dried figs


India 59 544 46 99

Pakistan 313 159 1

Canada 218 116 0


Germany 25 26 0

Source : ITC.


Photo: dfn 19/3/18, (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) Francisco Antunes, Dry Figs Bokeh.jpg


29

Pine nuts

Official export statistics specific to pine nuts are not avail-able. However, it is estimated that pine nuts exports from Afghanistan amounts to approximately US $ 70 million yearly. Pine nuts are predominantely exported from Afghanistan in-shell. Traders roast the pine nuts in-shell as soon as pos-sible to avoid the product from becoming rancid. Most of Afghanistan exports of pine nuts ( Pinus gerardiana ) are directed to Pakistan ( roughly 3,500 tons in 2016 ). Pine nuts are afterwards reportedly exported to third markets.

SOME TOUGH NUTS TO CRACK : A SERIES OF CHALLENGES PREVENTING SECTOR GROWTH

Key issues constraining the sector’s ability to compete, connect and change

The following section analyses sector challenges across three levels : firm capabilities ; institutional and trade support ; and na-tional environment, policy and regulations. For this analysis, the issues that are crucial for the competitiveness of Afghan exports can be sorted into three categories.

Compete : Issues limiting the sector’s capacity to compete in national and foreign markets. This includes challenges related to market access, inputs, productivity, quality management, national infrastructure and compliance with standards.

Connect : Issues constraining connectivity to suppliers, markets and clients. This dimension includes challenges related to market information, marketing and trade promotion, branding and trade agreements.

Change : Issues limiting the sector’s capacity to change, innovate and capitalize on emerging trends. This dimension relates to lim-ited access to skilled labour, production methods, institutional support to innovate, investment promotion and protection, corpo-rate social responsibility, and employment for youth and women.

Compete

As the leading sector among Afghanistan’s exports, Afghan dried fruits and nuts hold enormous potential to boost total exports and help close the country’s significant trade defi-cit. However, the sector’s export capacity is limited by the low availability of critical inputs and a lack of capacity to upgrade processing methods to meet international quality and safety requirements.

Inconsistent availability of raw materials hinders increased production

Several factors explain the low levels of fruit production at the farm level. They include the use of traditional, less pro-ductive cultivation methods, poor practices for pest and dis-ease control, lack of adequate storage facilities, and lack of harvest coordination among smallholders. Furthermore, producers have economic incentives to push the best-qual-ity produce from their fruit crops into the fresh fruit market ( where prices are high ), leaving the remaining lower-quality produce for dried fruit processing. This lowers the overall quality of Afghanistan’s dried fruit products, which impacts its reputation in international markets.


30


When it comes to Afghanistan’s nut subsector, production is primarily small-scale. Limited agricultural extension services result in poor awareness of and training in best practices for cultivation and harvesting. At present, poor tree care, suboptimal fertilizer application and premature harvesting of fruits and nuts negatively impacts the volume of yields and their quality. In the case of pistachios and pine nuts, which both grow wild in Afghanistan, the Afghan Government has had difficulty regulating the harvest, often resulting in armed insurgent groups and local strongmen taking control of for-ests and improperly harvesting the nuts ( e.g. by picking nuts prematurely ).

Value chain segment Inputs / production

Severity ● ● ● ● ○

PoA referenceActivities 1.3.1 to 1.3.4, 1.4.1, 1.4.2,

1.5.1 to 1.5.3.

Inconsistent availability of critical inputs hinders productivity

Critical inputs for processing dried fruits and nuts, such as chemicals for drying and mats for sun- and shade-dry-ing, are in limited supply in the Afghan market. They are especially difficult to access for rural smallholders who likely make few ( if any ) trips to major urban centres throughout the year. Access to irrigated land is another challenge, with competition over land and water likely to become more in-tense in the future.

Value chain segment All segments


PoA reference Activities 2.4.1, 2.4.2

Inadequate processing techniques reduce the value of Afghan dried fruits and nuts

The use of manual techniques, particularly for postharvest handling of nuts, often incurs damage to the product, there-by reducing its market value. Extended sun-drying of fruits frequently leaves products coated with dirt and foreign ma-terials, which require them to be washed two or three times. This increases production costs and the time required to get products to markets. In some cases, foreign material becomes so deeply lodged in the dried fruit that it is impos-sible to remove it through washing.

Increased knowledge and training on more effective methods to clean and otherwise process dried fruits and nuts are desperately needed. At present, though, agricultur-al extension support is focused on fruit and nut cultivation, and offers little advice on postharvest processing. Making matters worse, appropriate tools and equipment to improve processing methods are difficult to purchase due to lack of access to investment capital.

Establishing modern processing centres ( and upgrading existing ones ) is a challenge, considering the poor enabling infrastructure at the national level. Industrial-scale dried fruit and nut processing requires consistent ( and affordable ) power, which at present is not available.

Value chain segment Processing


PoA referenceActivities 2.2.1 to 2.2.3, 2.3.1

to 2.3.6

Insufficient access to working capital hinders sector development

Both producers and exporters face difficulties owing to the lack of working and investment capital. For example, sector traders have particular financial needs when it comes to acquiring larger volumes of products during the production season. In the case of nut production, the harvesting sea-sons for almonds, pistachios, pine nuts and walnuts are very close together ( from July to November ), which necessitates large amounts of capital in order to purchase produce from smallholders in bulk. For smallholders, microloans and / or microcredit would help expand areas under cultivation, as well as buying inputs such as fertilizers and drying solutions ( during the postharvest drying stage ).




Weak quality management and consideration of food safety limits access to international markets

Current processing techniques limit the ability of sector en-terprises to export to countries with strict food safety and quality standards. Across the value chain there is lack of awareness of quality and food safety management prac-tices. At the cultivation level, smallholders do not have the necessary market information to make strategic decisions about which types of dried fruits and nuts to cultivate to earn premium prices in international markets. Minimal knowledge about pest and disease control, as well as toxins that are introduced through fungal contamination, all contribute to difficulties in exporting to highly regulated markets.

These practices already have a negative impact on the ability of sector companies to enter first-tier markets. This is the case for imports of Afghan raisins into the European market. After repeated non-compliance related to the pres-ence of ochratoxin A, Afghan raisins are only allowed into the EU market under strict conditions ( health certificate and analytical test reports ). Early hulling of pistachios increases the risks of exposure to Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiti-cus spores, which have the potential to produce aflatoxins.


31

Afghan pistachios have been rejected in the past due to the presence of aflatoxins.

Another issue is weak capacity to maintain quality stand-ards. Poor on-site quality control results in frequent mixing of raw materials of variable size, colour, moisture content and overall quality, which decreases the value of the entire batch. Differing methods of drying fruit also leads to end products that vary from village to village and province to province, further reducing sales prospects with international buyers, who are very focused on product consistency.

Appropriate training is needed on best practices for drying and roasting that can be reasonably implanted con-sidering current limitations ( e.g. minimal available capital and expensive, inconsistent power ). Agricultural extension workers with expertise in processing, rather than cultivation, could play a significant role in raising awareness of interna-tional quality and food safety standards. Investment in cold chain infrastructure and storage facilities to keep produce in controlled environments is critical, since the quality and safety of the final product is subject to weather conditions.


Severity ● ● ● ● ●

PoA referenceActivities 1.5.1 to 1.5.3, 2.1.1 to

2.1.3, 2.2.1 to 2.2.3, 2.5.2

The national quality and SPS infrastructure is not up to international standards

On the institutional side, the Afghan Government’s capac-ity to enforce food safety and quality control standards is limited by the scarcity of technical staff and testing facilities ( e.g. mycotoxin laboratories ) to certify products against in-ternational grades and standards. As a consequence, phy-tosanitary certificates issued by the Government are not recognized in many countries. Moreover, the small-scale nature of production and processing limits the ability of

sector enterprises to implement traceability measures which help regulate quality control and reassure buyers. Improving quality and food safety enforcement is a critical prerequisite for Afghan dried fruits and nuts enterprises to successfully penetrate target international markets.



PoA reference Activities 2.5.1 to 2.5.4

The tax regime is overly burdensome and decreases incentives to operate in the formal economy and invest in the sector

At present, traders report that they are subject to a variety of informal taxes prior to export. These payments, often re-ferred to as ‘gifts’ to speed up processing or avoid undue scrutiny, cut into traders’ margins while also degrading the credibility of the Afghan Government. The perception also exists that taxes are not applied consistently across all trad-ers. While there are no duties or taxes on outgoing goods, there is a 4 % tax on revenue ( before any profits are calcu-lated ) that applies to all businesses.

Some traders avoid this tax ( the Basic Revenue Tax ) al-together by way of smuggling, or by renewing their trader’s licence every year using a different name. Considering that dried fruits and nuts are commodities that are often traded with razor-thin margins, the current tax regime is forcing traders to either leave the formal economy or see their busi-ness go under. The tax regime also lowers profits across the sector, decreasing the capital available to enterprises for reinvestment, as well as reducing the appeal of new invest-ments by outsiders.

Value chain segment Marketing / distribution

Severity ● ● ● ○ ○

PoA reference Activity 1.2.2


32


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ions

or

coop

erat

ives

Lim

ited

avai

labi

lity

of o

ther

crit

ical

in

puts

Lack

of

know

ledg

e of

be

tter

proc

essi

ng

met

hods

and

th

us, l

ack o

f de

man

d fo

r pr

oces

sing

in

puts

Scar

ce

avai

labi

lity

of in

puts

at

the

dist

rict

leve

l

Lack

of

wor

king

ca

pita

l for

tra

ders

to

buy

larg

e vo

lum

es

Smal

l-sc

ale

prod

uctio

n w

ithou

t ha

rves

t co

ordi

natio

n

Lack

of w

orki

ng

capi

tal l

imits

ex

pans

ion

of

oper

atio

ns o

f val

ue

chai

n st

akeh

olde

rs

Lack

of a

dequ

ate

infra

stru

ctur

e fo

r pr

oces

sing

/ ad

ding

val

ue

Redu

ced

valu

e of

pr

oduc

ts d

ue to

in

adeq

uate

pr

oces

sing

te

chni

ques

Use

of

man

ual

tech

niqu

es

redu

ces

valu

e of

the

prod

uct

Smal

l size

of

orc

hard

s

Certa

in

fore

sts

are

cont

rolle

d by

in

surg

ents

Outd

ated

fa

rmin

g m

etho

ds

Ove

rly

burd

enso

me

tax

regi

me

Lack

of c

larit

y/

awar

enes

s ab

out t

he

taxa

tion

syst

em

amon

g se

ctor

en

terp

rises

Use

of lo

wer

qu

ality

see

ds,

varie

ties

and

plan

ting

mat

eria

ls

Freq

uent

impo

rt of

sub

stan

dard

pl

antin

g m

ater

ial

thro

ugh

undo

cum

ente

d pr

oced

ures

Lim

ited

and

inco

nsis

tent

qu

ality

con

trol

Phyt

osan

itary

ce

rtific

ates

is

sued

by

the

gove

rnm

ent a

re

not r

ecog

nize

d in

man

y co

untri

es

Unaw

aren

ess

of

qual

ity

prem

ium

s on

pa

rticu

lar

varie

ties

Prod

uctio

n of

ce

rtain

nut

s is

mor

e vu

lner

able

as

they

onl

y gr

ow w

ild

Lack

of

know

ledg

e of

/ tra

inin

g in

be

tter

proc

essi

ng

met

hods

Lack

of,

or

use

of

outd

ated

m

achi

nery

for

proc

essi

ng

Poor

ena

blin

g in

frast

ruct

ure

Lack

of

adeq

uate

st

orag

e fa

cilit

ies

to

keep

sto

ck in

co

ntro

lled

envir

onm

ents

Lack

of

awar

enes

s of

in

tern

atio

nal

stan

dard

s

Lack

of a

cces

s to

mar

ket

info

rmat

ion

Lim

ited

exte

nsio

n se

rvic

es to

rais

e aw

aren

ess

and

capa

city

to

upgr

ade

prod

uctio

n m

etho

ds

Wea

k en

forc

emen

t of

exis

ting

ban

on

acce

ss to

pi

stac

hio

fore

sts

near

har

vest

tim

e

Lim

ited

rang

e/

expa

nsio

n of

fin

anci

al se

rvic

es

targ

etin

g se

ctor

nee

ds

Wea

k na

tiona

l abi

lity

to

perf

orm

phy

tosa

nita

ry a

nd

qual

ity c

ontro

l (in

stitu

tiona

l-sid

e)

Unsa

nita

ry

tradi

tiona

l pr

oduc

tion

and

proc

essi

ng

met

hods

stil

l pr

evai

l and

do

min

ate

the

sect

or

Diffi

culti

es to

ac

hiev

e qu

ality

co

nsis

tenc

y

(out

date

d m

achi

nery

, un

skille

d la

bour

, po

or s

ortin

g an

d gr

adin

g)

Test

ing

faci

litie

s to

cer

tify

prod

ucts

aga

inst

in

tern

atio

nal

stan

dard

s ar

e ra

re o

r no

n-ex

iste

nt

Diffi

cult

qual

ity

cont

rol d

ue to

sm

all-

scal

e pr

oduc

tion

Com

pete

: the

sec

tor’s

exp

ort c

apac

ity is

lim

ited

by th

e lo

w a

vaila

bilit

y of

cri

tical

inpu

ts a

nd a

lack

of a

bilit

y to

upg

rade

pro

cess

ing

met

hods

to

mee

t int

erna

tiona

l qua

lity

and

safe

ty re

quire

men

ts


33

Connect

Critical factors constraining the sector’s capacity to connect to international buyers include the weak reputation of trad-ers ( in terms of reliability and quality consistency ) and the poor promotion of sector products in foreign markets. As a result, sector exports are exceedingly concentrated in a few regional markets, particularly India and Pakistan.

Lack of timely delivery undermines traders’ reputation in international markets

Afghan sector enterprises have faced difficulty delivering shipments to international buyers in a timely manner. In most cases the cost of air freight to target markets is prohibitively expensive, leaving a combination of ground and sea trans-port as the only available option. Deficiencies in transport infrastructure often lead to habitual late delivery of ship-ments, which in turn leads to loss of contracts. There have been occasions when Afghan products have not managed to arrive on time for festivals, owing to transit problems once shipments enter Pakistani territory.

Lengthy border procedures caused by multiple export controls while transiting through Pakistan not only impede the timely delivery of shipments but also lead to loss of quality and even wastage. Often products are treated with insecticides when they are offloaded onto Pakistani trucks, which creates problems with SPS and food safety regula-tions in international markets. Furthermore, products must be loaded and unloaded several times through these export controls, which leads to product damage and losses. In ad-dition, corruption plagues Afghan traders at border Customs control points, which can lead to the halting of shipments until bribes are paid.

All of these factors undermine the reputation of sector trad-ers who are working to build long-term relationships with international buyers. This situation could be improved with enhanced coordination with neighbouring countries’ Customs authorities, and especially efforts to halt the unof-ficial harassment that Afghan goods face when transiting through Pakistan to India or to Karachi Port. Main activi-ties aimed at addressing these issues are covered under the Afghanistan NES document, under the section on Trade Facilitation.




Minimal packaging and branding capacity hinders visibility of Afghan dried fruits and nuts in international markets

The limited availability of equipment and inputs for pack-aging, exacerbated by weak marketing skills among sector enterprises, constrains the ability of companies to differenti-ate Afghan dried fruits and nuts from those of competitors. As mentioned earlier in this Strategy, Afghan dried fruits and nuts are mostly packed in wooden crates and in plastic bags, which do not inspire trust when viewed by interna-tional buyers.

The shortage of packaging facilities leads traders to export ( or smuggle ) products into neighbouring countries, mainly Pakistan but also the Islamic Republic of Iran, where they are processed, packaged and then re-exported without any Afghan brand. This practice results in a lost opportunity to build the Afghan brand for dried fruits and nuts in the global market.


34




PoA referenceActivities 3.1.1 to 3.1.4, 3.5.1

to 3.5.4

Insufficient in-market support prevents Afghan companies from creating links with international buyers

Sector enterprises struggle to connect to buyers in interna-tional markets due to insufficient provision of in-market sup-port by relevant institutions. This is especially the case when it comes to participating in international exhibitions and fairs, which involves obtaining short-stay visas for business pur-poses. Moreover, trade attachés stationed at Afghan em-bassies and consulates around the world have done little ( if anything ) to gather local market intelligence and help build business links with local buyers.


Severity ● ● ● ○ ○


Weak market intelligence services inhibit the export potential of sector companies

On the institutional side, more efforts must be made to pro-vide relevant and up-to-date market intelligence to sector en-terprises. Critical information includes import requirements, packaging requirements ( e.g. International Standards For Phytosanitary Measures ( ISPM ) 15 ), consumption trends, consumer preferences, target market distribution channels

and product prices in target markets. Sector exporters also require information on which certifications are required to export goods to target markets and where these documents can be secured. Once this shortcoming in information is ad-dressed, capable farmers’ associations must be in place to disseminate information to the rural agricultural communities at the start of the value chain.




Weak coordination among farmers’ and traders’ associations undermines horizontal and vertical value chain integration

Weak coordination within associations of farmers and trad-ers hinders the horizontal and vertical integration of value chain operations. Considering that the vast majority of dried fruit and nut growers and processors are smallholders, sec-tor associations need to be strengthened with the goal of achieving economies of scale, improved bargaining power for bulk sales, and knowledge transfer. Enhancing the ca-pacity of associations can also facilitate the provision and distribution of inputs, provide information on opportunities to receive microloans and microcredit, and coordinate mis-sions by agricultural extension workers.



PoA reference Activities 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.2.1 to 1.2.3



35

Figure 11 : Problem tree – challenges to connect

Conn

ect:

Ente

rpris

es a

re u

nabl

e to

pen

etra

te a

nd r

etai

n pr

esen

ce in

inte

rnat

iona

l mar

kets

: as

a re

sult

expo

rts

are

conc

entr

ated

in a

few

mar

kets

Lack

of t

imel

y de

liver

y un

derm

ine

trade

rs’ r

elia

bilit

y

Poor

road

inf

rast

ruct

ure

Corru

ption

incid

ents

Defe

ctive

Cus

tom

s pr

oced

ures

cau

se

delay

s in

deliv

ery

Incr

ease

d di

ssem

inat

ion

of

mar

ket i

ntel

ligen

ce is

requ

ired

Insu

ffici

ent i

n-m

arke

t su

ppor

t

Limite

d av

ailab

ility

and

varie

ty o

f in

puts

fo

r pac

kagin

g

Fina

l pro

duct

s ar

e ex

port

ed

with

out b

rand

ing

and

with

bas

ic

pack

agin

g, if

any

Lack

of

mac

hiner

y fo

r pa

ckag

ing

Lack

of p

rope

r mod

ern

Cust

oms

equip

men

t in

clear

ance

pro

cess

es a

t Cu

stom

s. Im

prop

er

(un)

loadin

g of

pro

duct

s als

o da

mag

es th

eir

quali

ty

Lack

of r

eliab

le st

atist

ical

infor

mat

ion o

n se

ctor

size

and

pr

oduc

tion

Prev

ious

rese

arch

/ d

ocum

enta

tion

lost d

uring

war

ye

ars.

Br

ain d

rain

Lack

of

prom

otion

en

cour

aging

the

form

ation

of

prod

ucer

s’

asso

ciatio

ns

Lack

of s

kills/

kn

owled

ge to

fo

rm a

nd

oper

ate

asso

ciatio

ns

Diffi

cult a

cces

s to

fruit

tree

s (m

argin

al ar

eas

or h

ome

back

yard

s) m

ake

estim

ation

their

nu

mbe

r bu

rden

som

e

Mult

iple

expo

rt co

ntro

ls be

twee

n Ka

bul a

nd P

akist

an

Lack

of

mar

ketin

g an

d bu

sines

s sk

ills

traini

ng

Wea

k mar

ket

links

to fa

rmer

s

Lack

of c

omm

on

regio

nal w

eight

s an

d m

easu

res

syst

ems

e.g.

1

maa

n eq

uals

4.5

kg in

Kan

daha

r, 7

kg in

Kab

ul an

d 8

kg in

Her

at

Lac

k of a

gree

men

t an

d co

ordin

ation

with

ne

ighbo

uring

co

untri

es’ a

utho

rities

an

d Cu

stom

s

Trad

e at

tach

és

are

inact

ive

Wea

k co

ordi

natio

n in

fa

rmer

s’ a

nd tr

ader

s’

asso

ciat

ions

und

erm

ines

ho

rizon

tal a

nd v

ertic

al v

alue

ch

ain

inte

grat

ion

Farm

ers

do n

ot

have

timely

acc

ess

to p

rices

of

prod

ucts

in o

ther

pr

ovinc

es o

f Af

ghan

istan

Lack

of

coor

dinat

ion

betw

een

sect

or

stak

ehold

ers

Insu

fficie

nt d

evelo

pmen

t of

mar

ket in

form

ation

on

inter

natio

nal m

arke

ts

(pro

duct

spe

cifica

tions

, lab

elling

requ

irem

ents

, pa

ckag

ing, c

onsu

mpt

ion

trend

s, m

arke

t cha

nnels

, co

mpe

tition

, pric

es)

Diffi

culty

in g

etting

vis

as to

exp

lore

and

parti

cipat

e in

inter

natio

nal

mar

kets

Inc

reas

ed s

uppo

rt ne

eded

to fa

cilita

te pa

rticip

ation

of

Afgh

an s

ecto

r co

mpa

nies

in re

levan

t int

erna

tiona

l fair

s an

d ex

hibitio

ns

High

leve

ls of

inf

orm

ality

in

trade

36


Change

Poor processing expertise limits the sector’s capacity to upgrade the quality of outputs

Unskilled labour is commonly responsible for postharvest processes, which translates into irregular and lower-quality outputs. For instance, Afghan nuts frequently have a lower market value because inadequate hand-shelling techniques often cause damage to the edible kernel. Additionally, fruits are not dried using appropriate methods due to lack of knowledge, training and physical resources. For example, processors often apply different times for drying fruit, and thus the moisture content of the dried fruit is not uniform. In turn, this reduces the value of the final product. Further practical training is needed, particularly in terms of handling, sorting, grading and packaging of products.

Value chain segment Processing

Severity ● ● ● ● ●

PoA reference Activities 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 2.2.1 to 2.2.3

Sector enterprises have weak management skills, constraining their ability to expand their businesses and reach target international markets

Afghan sector enterprises frequently lack postharvest man-agement skills, which results in low quality and consistency of their products. Minimal ( if any ) proficiency in contem-porary marketing techniques, combined with language

limitations and minimal experience with e-mail communi-cations, impedes the ability of sector enterprises to build relationships with international buyers.



PoA reference Activity 1.2.2, 3.2.1

Low levels of investment constrain the sector’s capacity to upgrade current processing methods

Sector capacity to upgrade current processing methods has been constrained by low levels of investment in machinery, storage and processing facilities, as well as limited cold chain infrastructure. Investment in the sector has been lim-ited for several reasons, such as security concerns, access to credit and weak protections for investors. Another impor-tant hindering factor is the legal ambiguity surrounding the ownership and leasing of land. This can drain resources as investors spend time in the complicated process of acquir-ing new land and / or protecting rights to land they already own. Furthermore, large-scale investments – for example, setting up an industrial park – are inhibited by a poor ena-bling infrastructure, such as the irregular and costly supply of electricity and poor road infrastructure.



PoA referenceActivities 1.4.1, 1.4.2, 1.5.1, 2.3.1

to 2.3.6



37

Low levels of research on best-suited varieties of dried fruits and nuts for the Afghan climate and associated processing techniques

Insufficient effort and resources have been dedicated to up-grading processing technology, particularly when it comes to drying and roasting methods. When considering available technology to bring to Afghanistan, infrastructural weakness-es ( i.e. roads, electricity and water ) and limited investment capital must to taken into consideration. The application of solar-powered technology should be explored for activities throughout the value chain.

Another area of focus must be on maximizing yields through further study of fruit and nut tree types. Certain nuts, such as pistachios, are harvested from public forests rather than commercial orchards. This renders pistachios vulnerable to deforestation and illegal harvesting by insur-gents and local strongmen. Threats to Afghanistan’s pista-chio supply can be addressed through the development of commercial pistachio orchards that are privately owned and operated. Further research must be conducted to identify which strains of pistachio trees can be domesticated and yield high-value crops.

Finally, there is a great need to conduct comprehensive research cataloguing fruit and nut varieties which are native to Afghanistan ( or have been proven to thrive in its climate ) to understand their properties and potential commercial value.




Lack of women-to-women service delivery at every stage of the value chain

Cultural norms limit women’s interaction with men outside the household, which inhibits the capacity of women to con-tribute to the dried fruits and nuts value chain at their maxi-mum potential. To remedy this deficiency, tailored training must be organized for female workers in such activities as drying, roasting, sorting and grading. Ideally this training would be given to women by women.

Outside of their role as manual labourers, women have little presence in the sector value chain. This is hardly sur-prising, considering that in conservative rural communities a woman haggling over raisin prices with a non-relative male buyer would be considered scandalous. While trying to avoid offending conservative sensibilities, efforts should be made to involve women in more significant roles in the sector’s value chain, outside the sphere of manual labour ; for example, supporting the involvement of more women in administrative positions, such as accountants and market-ing officers.





38


Figure 12 : Problem tree – challenges to change

Lim

ited

skills

and

kno

wle

dge

of

the

labo

ur fo

rce

rest

rain

s th

e se

ctor

’s c

apac

ity to

upg

rade

th

e va

lue

and

qual

ity o

f pr

oduc

tion

Insu

ffici

ent k

now

ledg

e of

an

d pr

actic

al tr

aini

ng in

ap

prop

riate

met

hods

Low

leve

ls o

f inv

estm

ent

Lim

ited

lang

uage

an

d co

mpu

ter

skills

Wea

k ab

ilitie

s of

sec

tor

expo

rter

s to

exp

and

busi

ness

es

and

deve

lop

rela

tions

hips

with

in

tern

atio

nal b

uyer

s

Secu

rity

conc

erns

Lack

of c

larit

y on

pro

pert

y rig

hts

(land

ow

ners

hip,

te

nure

)

Lack

of w

omen

-to-w

omen

se

rvic

e de

liver

y to

impr

ove

post

harv

est a

ctiv

ities

High

leve

ls o

f co

rrup

tion

Wea

k m

anag

emen

t an

d m

arke

ting

skills

Lim

ited

finan

cial

, inf

rast

ruct

ural

(la

bs) a

nd te

chni

cal r

esou

rces

Impr

ovem

ents

in th

e se

ctor

are

co

nstra

ined

due

to w

eak

serv

ice

prov

isio

n to

wom

en

acro

ss th

e va

lue

chai

n

Poor

ena

blin

g in

frast

ruct

ure

(hig

h co

sts

of

elec

trici

ty a

nd

poor

road

in

frast

ruct

ure)

Low

cap

acity

an

d cr

edib

ility

of in

stitu

tions

fo

r inv

esto

r pr

otec

tion

Low

leve

ls o

f R&

D to

upg

rade

val

ue

chai

n op

erat

ions

and

lack

of

rese

arch

on

best

-sui

ted

com

mer

cial

va

rietie

s of

cer

tain

frui

ts/n

uts

for

prod

uctio

n in

Afg

hani

stan

Poor

en

forc

emen

t of

cont

ract

s

Chan

ge: T

he s

ecto

r has

lim

ited

abili

ty to

upg

rade

pro

duct

ion

met

hods

[ IN A NUTSHELL : POSITIONING THE AFGHAN DRIED FRUITS AND NUTS SECTOR IN THE GLOBAL MARKET ]

39

IN A NUTSHELL : POSITIONING THE AFGHAN DRIED FRUITS AND NUTS SECTOR IN THE GLOBAL MARKET

This Strategy aims to achieve the following impact :

• Increase volumes of production and exports• Ensure food safety compliance of final products• Gradually upgrade the quality of production from low/medium

quality to high quality

• Optimize timing of entry to key markets• Improve packaging and overall marketing of dried fruits and

nuts• Position Afghan dried fruits and nuts as a premium product.

On one hand, global demand for dried fruits and nuts is expected to continue expanding, driven by increasing consumption in Europe and Asia. This is promising for the Afghan sector because of Afghanistan’s proximity to large Asian markets. Moreover, access to both European and Asian markets has improved with the opening in 2017 of an air cargo corridor with India and a ground corridor to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Chabahar Port. Better access to air shipping will not only improve timely delivery of products but also reduce spoilage.

On the other hand, the global market for dried fruits and nuts is characterized by the dominance of a handful of sup-pliers for particular products ( e.g. the United States and Islamic Republic of Iran dominating the pistachio market ). Global production levels have experienced shocks due to climate-related misfortunes and political turmoil throughout the world. Global prices, in turn, have fluctuated widely with the inconsistent supplies. While demand has often outpaced supply in the sector in recent years ( especially for premium varieties of nuts ), suppliers are expected to continue to com-pete aggressively on price in the coming years.

The dried fruits and nuts sector encompasses a wide va-riety of products, making it challenging to visualize a price-based segmentation of the market. Nevertheless, figure 13 provides a very simplistic characterization of how pricing is segmented in the sector. Photo: Dried Fruits & Nuts, FOX20507.jpg

40


Figure 13 : Market segments according to price ranges

Premium

Middle

Bottom end

Low price

Luxury varietiesOrganic and fair-trade certified productsFreeze-dried fruitChocolate-coated fruits and nuts

Most dried fruits and nuts with food- safety certification and basic corporate social responsibility certification

Basic -quality nuts and dried fruit without certification

Source : Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries ( 2015 ).

Considering the price segmentation dynamics, industrial-scale suppliers like the United States and Turkey are better positioned than Afghanistan to respond to global market demand. Having invested heavily in high-tech agricultural and processing technology, the dominant suppliers are able to offer their buyers comparatively low prices with high qual-ity and food safety assurances.

In Afghanistan, there has been minimal investment in ad-vanced technology that could decrease drying and other processing costs. This can be explained, in part, by the weak business environment, high cost of electricity and the fact that most production is small-scale.

Considering the current challenges, Afghanistan is bet-ter suited for competition in the premium price segment ( or close to it ). In the short and medium terms, Afghan produc-ers may not be able achieve the economies of scale that allow for aggressive price competition. By focusing on the premium market segment, they may be able to outclass their competitors in a number of product classes, listed below :

� Premium varieties of dried fruits or nuts that are unique ( in taste, shape, etc. ) to Afghanistan

� Dried fruits with naturally high water content � Dried fruits without preservatives or added sugar � Large-sized grapes � Certified organic products � Products enhanced through value addition.

Considering Afghanistan’s comparative advantages in a number of products within the sector, there are three specific opportunities that sector enterprises can take advantage of to obtain premium prices for their products.

1. Capitalize on premium varieties : Afghanistan pos-sesses hundreds of varieties of raisins and dozens of varieties of almonds, to the extent that not all varieties have been fully documented and assessed for sale in international markets. Many of these products, consider-ing their rare and distinctive qualities, could be sold at a premium in international markets.

2. Promote organic production : Afghanistan has excelled in the production of dried figs and apricots. While there are few opportunities to obtain premium prices based on particular varieties of apricot, there are opportunities to achieve high profit margins through high-quality pro-duction and organic certification. Due to the low levels of pesticides and fertilizers used in production, most Afghan agricultural products are organic by default. To date, the concept of organic certification in Afghanistan is virtually unknown, representing a missed opportunity for Afghan dried fruits and nuts enterprises.

3. Time market entry : Afghanistan can adopt a more strate-gic approach to market entry, considering the seasonality of demand for certain varieties of dried fruits and nuts in key markets. In this regard, optimal time of entry can be determined through price observations and an analysis of cyclical patterns of price movements, in order to make sales at times of peak demand and maximize profit.

Owing to higher production volumes and market demand, certain product varieties have better potential in international markets. Table 19 summarizes opportunities for the Afghan dried fruits and nuts sector to tap into existing demand and / or generate new demand.


41

Table 19 : Afghanistan’s dried fruits and nuts market potential by subproduct

ProductMarket

opportunitiesCompetition Market positioning / strategy

Raisins

High-end markets for premium

varieties

Green raisins :Main competitors are the

Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States for

green raisins

• Varieties such as green raisins have the highest potential as a revived Afghan brand, which can have positive spillover effects for the rest of the sector

• Afghan shade-dried raisins are a specialty item in nearby markets ( India and Pakistan )

• Besides the shape and taste of Afghan green raisins, the traditional process-ing method ( shade-drying ) further distinguishes the product from competing suppliers

Red raisins :Competition from the

United States and Turkey for other more common

varieties

• Value addition possibilities are enormous, since the current baseline in terms of quality is relatively low

• Improving time of market entry is key

Dried apricots / dried figs

High-end market potential with

organic certification Main competitor is Turkey

• Increasing quality and adding value ( e.g. through packaging ) will be the main strategy, as there is little scope for differentiation with dried apricots and figs

• Moving towards organic certification ( with accompanying ‘organic’ branding ) can provide higher profit margins in premium market segments in the long term

Almonds

High-end market potential for

premium varietiesMain competitors are the United States and Spain

• Almonds with soft shells ( e.g. satarbai and kaharbai varieties ) benefit from high demand in India and Pakistan, but unfortunately prices obtained by Afghan traders in these markets remain low

• Developed markets like the United States could represent an excellent market for the sale of soft shell varieties, with prices set at a premium based on size and colour

• Improving time of entry : in many markets demand for almonds is seasonal, so traders have the opportunity to maximize profits by delaying sales until optimal prices can be obtained

Pistachios High-end markets

Main competitors are the Islamic Republic of Iran

and the United States• Pistachios garner high prices in international markets• Improving packaging is crucial

Pine nutsHigh-end market

potentialMain competitors are

Pakistan, Turkey and China

• Pine nut market is highly concentrated ( strong demand, particularly in China )• Value addition possibilities are significant. Good margins exist for well-roasted

pine nut products.• Higher profit margins exist for organic and socially responsible pine nuts

production ( e.g. FairWild )

To reach their full potential as suppliers in international mar-kets, Afghan dried fruit and nut enterprises must take the following steps to address existing weaknesses. � Increase volume of production and exports : This is a pre-

requisite for improving sector performance in international markets. Orchard specialization should be promoted with the objective of increasing yields. At the same time, farm-ers must be encouraged and trained to produce specific varieties of fruits and nuts that can be sold at a premium in international markets. Organic certification in the pro-duction of certain crops, such as apricots and figs, has the potential to immediately open up these products for sale in new niche markets with considerably higher profit margins. Moreover, the capacity of producers’ associa-tions should be enhanced to facilitate supply aggregation.

� Ensure food safety compliance of outgoing shipments : The second prerequisite for improving the position of Afghan dried fruits and nuts in global markets is im-proving compliance with internationally recognized food

safety standards. Non-compliance not only damages the international image of Afghan products but also effective-ly blocks Afghan exports from entering highly regulated developed markets. Concrete steps that can be taken to address this issue include the introduction of traceability systems in the value chain and training value chain actors on proper food-handling methods to reduce instances of harmful contamination.

� Upgrade the quality of dried fruits and nuts from low/medium quality to high quality : To compete on the ba-sis of quality rather than price, Afghanistan must improve postharvest operations. Reforms must take place along the value chain, from sorting to grading to drying and roasting techniques. The capacity of existing processing centres must be improved to ensure quality consistency and aggregation of supply. In parallel, increased access to working and investment capital for value chain actors can be directed towards upgrading technology and pro-cessing methods in the sector.

42


� Optimize time of entry in key markets : Optimizing timing of entry into key markets will require investments in cold chain infrastructure to minimize spoilage. Additionally, market intelligence regarding optimal times to sell in each target market should be collected and disseminated to Afghan producers and exporters.

� Improve packaging and overall marketing : Packaging is a fundamental element in the sector, and improving packaging attractiveness and methods must be a priority for Afghan enterprises. Clearly marking Afghan products with a ‘Made in Afghanistan’ label will also support the long-term goal of differentiating Afghan dried fruits and nuts from their competitors.

� Position Afghan dried fruits and nuts as premium products : In the short-term, Afghanistan can build on the strong reputation of certain varieties of its dried fruits and nuts in established destination markets such as India and Pakistan. To capture more revenue along the value chain, Afghan exporters can shift away from bulk ship-ments to retail-ready packaging that reinforces product differentiation. As the Afghan dried fruits and nuts sector builds its capacity in packaging and marketing through trade in South Asia, it will become more capable of selling its premium-grade products in highly competitive devel-oped markets.

MARKET IDENTIFICATION

The following section provides insights into relevant market development opportunities. Key markets with short-term opportunities to increase exports are selected based on factors such as existing trade relationships, geographic proximity and cultural affinity. These factors form the foun-dation for optimism about expanded trade ties in the future. In the medium-to-long term, it is expected that the evolving

capacities of Afghan exporters and a steadily improving business environment will contribute to exporters’ success-fully penetrating new markets.

The products listed under the short-term section will also hold export potential in the medium-to-long term, unless specifically mentioned otherwise.

SHORT-TERM PHASE

Table 20 : Short-term phase ( 0–3 years )

Target market

Product Key success factorsDistribution

channel

Afghan dried fruits and nuts exports to

market 2016 ( US $ thousands )

Annual growth of sector imports all

suppliers 2012–2016 ( % )

Annual gross domestic product growth estimates

2017–2021 ( % )

Pakistan*Almonds,

raisins,

• Price competitiveness• Product differentiation,

packagingWholesalers,

supermarkets 29 988 18.1 5.56

India

Almonds, pistachios,

raisins

• Optimal entry timing• Supply consistency• Product differentiation,

packagingWholesalers,


ChinaRaisins,

almonds

• Access to high-quality inputs• Optimal entry timing• Branding

Wholesalers, e-commerce – 3.43 6.09

Kazakhstan Raisins

• Attractive product presentation

• Sanitary safety and quality standards Wholesalers 2 426 0.9 3.14

UAEWalnuts, almonds

• Sanitary safety and quality standards ( low pesticide levels )

• Price competitiveness• Packaging requirements

Wholesalers, importers ( with

direct links to supermarkets, hypermarkets ) 3 617 3.86 3.17

* Official data for Pakistan imports of Afghan fresh fruits and vegetable products for 2015. Direct data was used for Afghan dried fruits and nuts exports to market.


43

Pakistan

Products : almonds ( shelled and in-shell ), raisins

Afghan exporters of dried fruits and nuts rely heavily on neigh-bouring Pakistan as a destination market, where demand for Afghan products is high but prices paid by buyers are low. Commonly, Afghan dried fruits and nuts are imported to Pakistan, undergo value edition ( e.g. sorting and packaging ), and are then re-exported to India and the Middle East.

Although Pakistan produces almonds, it must import additional quantities to meet domestic demand. Pakistani almond imports increased considerably between 2012 and 2016, with a 24 % increase in shelled almond imports and a 40 % increase for in-shell almonds. Pakistan is a key market for Afghan almonds, although Afghan traders face intense competition from the United States.

It is important to consider that consumer preferences and prices in regional markets such as Peshawar and Quetta are similar to those in local Afghan markets, while Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi offer opportunities for higher returns if proper packaging and quality control requirements are addressed. In Pakistan’s major urban centres there are also opportunities to sell directly to supermarkets, including Metro Cash & Carry, Hyperstar ( Carrefour ), Al Fatah and Chase Up Shopping.

Pakistan is a traditional Afghan destination market for raisins, particularly green raisins. Most Afghan raisins arrive in Pakistan with minimal processing, allowing Pakistani en-terprises to earn significant profits through varying types of value addition. Although Pakistanis usually buy food from tra-ditional shops and markets ( where dried fruits and nuts are sold by the kilogram in simple unbranded plastic bags ), in major cities consumers are slowly increasing their purchases of packaged and processed foods. Adding value through packaging and product differentiation is a short-term strategy option for Afghan exporters supplying the Pakistani market.

India

Products : almonds, pistachios, raisins

India is one of the top destination markets for Afghanistan’s dried fruits and nuts. Factors that have facilitated sales for Afghan traders in India include geographic proximity, pref-erential tariffs ( afforded by the Indian Government ) and the launch in 2017 of an air cargo corridor between both coun-tries. Additionally, Indian government agencies are actively supporting Afghan dried fruit and nut traders by establishing warehousing and wholesaling operations in India.

India is the leading importer of Afghan almonds, with sustained increase in demand between 2012 and 2016. During this period, annual growth of imports of in-shell almonds was 15 %, with the volume of shelled almonds increasing by 20 %. Despite a strong presence in India, Afghan almond exporters are severely outperformed by their

competitors in the United States. India’s domestic demand is fulfilled mainly by American almonds, with American trad-ers capturing 86 % of all in-shell almond imports and 39 % of shelled almond imports. Meanwhile, Afghanistan accounts for a minimum percentage of the Indian market. Afghan al-monds only account for 0.5 % and 15.7 % for in-shell and shelled almond imports to India, respectively.

Important seasonal demand for almonds ( September to January ) should be considered by Afghan exporters. In addition, volume consistency and production considerations related to quality must be adequately addressed by Afghan almond enterprises if they are to enhance their market po-sitioning. Indian consumers prefer longer kernel varieties of almonds, which can attract a premium of up to 50 % above standard varieties. Premium prices will also be offered for almonds packed in 250, 500 and 1,000 gram pouches, and shipped in 10 kg cardboard boxes, both in wholesale mar-kets and supermarkets. Only 5 % of retail sales of almonds in India are in branded pre-packaged form, as many retailers will weigh the requested quantity in the presence of their customer and package it in unbranded plastic.

India is also an important market for pistachios, particu-larly in shelled form, accounting for roughly 11 % of global pistachio imports. Demand for shelled pistachios has grown rapidly, at an average rate of 24 % between 2012 and 2016. The retail sector is the main driver of demand, responsible for around 80 % of domestic consumption. As with almonds, packaging and branding of pistachios is minimal.

Demand for pistachios is highest during winter, when most Indian marriages and festivals take place ( nuts are traditional Indian gifts and snacks for guests on special occasions ). Although Afghanistan is an important supplier of pistachios to India and enjoys a comparative advantage for pistachio production by virtue of favourable weather conditions, it fac-es increasing competition from the Islamic Republic of Iran ( which accounts for nearly 48 % of Indian pistachio imports ). To strengthen its position in the Indian market, Afghan ex-porters must improve consistency of supply and demonstrate patience by timing entry to achieve optimal prices.

Along with steady demand for Afghan nuts, India is also the leading importer of Afghan raisins. Certain raisin varieties, such as Afghan green raisins, have established excellent reputations in the Indian market and have the potential to obtain premium prices. Afghan exports of raisins to India are mostly unprocessed, representing an opportunity for Afghan traders to capture more revenue through value addition.

On the regulatory side, Indian authorities are not par-ticularly stringent with food safety regulations. Few ( if any ) shipments of Afghan dried fruits and nuts have been rejected in recent years by Indian Customs control for reasons re-lated to food safety and / or SPS compliance. Afghan food products destined for India do, however, require a Quality Certificate from the Afghan Raisins, Fruits and Vegetables Export Promotion Administration ( ARFVEPA – more popularly known as the ‘Raisins Directorate’ ), as well as a Phytosanitary Certificate issued by MAIL

44


Box 5 : Export potential to India of selected products

The products with the highest untapped export potential for the Indian market are raisins and dried apricots. Afghanistan is already a leading supplier of these products to India but has the potential to increase its share of imports relative to competitors, along with adding additional value prior to shipment.

India is also a prime export destination for Afghan nut exports, with growing demand and a preferential tariff for Afghan traders. Further investigation is needed to assess whether Afghanistan is able to supply the precise types of dried fruits and nuts preferred by Indian consumers, and which varieties sell at premium prices.*

Figure 14 : Export potential to India – figs

India_ HS 080420 – Fresh or dried figs

MARKET ENTRY REQUIREMENTSUNTAPPED EXPORT POTENTIAL

USD 26,625 tsd

APPLIED TARIFF

DEMAND

Afghanistan: 0% Ø other suppliers: 0%

Tariff advantage: 0pp

COMPETITION

Concentrated equivalent suppliers

Main suppliers: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran

• Labelling requirements• Restricted use of certain substances in foods and feeds

and their contact materials• Special authorization requirement• Tolerance limits for residues of or contamination by

certain (non-microbiological) substances• Registration requirements for importers• Storage and transport conditions• Other requierements on production or post-production

processes, not elsewhere specified• Testing requirement• Certification requirement• Inspection requirement• Distribution and location of products after delivery• Traceability requirements, not elsewhere specified• Marketing requirements• Packaging requirements• Custom inspection, processing and servicing fees• Additional charges not elsewhere specified• Restricted use of certain substances in foods and feeds

and their contact materials• Microbiological criteria of the final product• Plant growth processes• Irradiation• Product identity requirement• Requirement to pass through specified port of customs• Import licence fee• Hygienic practice during production

(Original documents available at www.macmap.org)

UNITED VALUE

Relative index: 1.01

USD 28.5 mn2011-2015

2020

41%

Figure 15 : Export potential to India – dried grapes

India_ HS 081310 – Dried apricots


USD 7,798 tsd

APPLIED TARIFF

DEMAND



COMPETITION


Main suppliers: Afghanistan, Turkey, Pakistan

• Labelling requirements• Restricted use of certain substances in foods

and feeds and their contact materials• Special authorization requirement• Tolerance limits for residues of or contamination

by certain (non-microbiological) substances• Registration requirements for importers• Storage and transport conditions• Other requierements on production or post-production




UNITED VALUE

Relative index: 1.2

USD 10.5 mn2011-2015

2020

41%

Figure 16 : Export potential to India – dried apricots

India_ HS 080620 – Dried grapes


USD 23,005 tsd

APPLIED TARIFF

DEMAND



COMPETITION


Main suppliers: Afghanistan, China, Greece







UNITED VALUE

Relative index: 1.02

USD 27.4 mn2011-2015

2020

41%

Figure 17 : Export potential to India – fresh or dried nuts

India_ HS 081310 – Dried apricots


USD 7,798 tsd

APPLIED TARIFF

DEMAND



COMPETITION


Main suppliers: Afghanistan, Turkey, Pakistan







UNITED VALUE

Relative index: 1.2

USD 10.5 mn2011-2015

2020

41%

Source : ITC ( 2017 ) : Reconnecting Afghanistan to global markets – An ITC assessment of export potentials and trade obstacles.* ITC (2017) - Yvan Decreux, Maria Del Mar Cantero and Julia Spies: Reconnecting Afghanistan to global markets – An ITC assessment of export potentials and trade obstacles.


45

China

Products : raisins, almonds, pine nuts

In the near future, China will likely be an ever more appeal-ing destination for Afghan exports as new trade routes open up. China has started the process of extending the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan, and both countries have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to include Afghanistan in China’s massive regional project, the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative. Furthermore, China–Afghanistan train connections are under development in the northern province of Balkh, with Chinese investments and commercial ties expected to deepen in the next few years.

In the short term, there is high potential to increase ex-ports of raisins to China, owing to growing domestic con-sumption. Currently, Chinese raisin demand is satisfied by Uzbekistan and the United States, who have effectively split the market with import shares of 46 % and 43.8 %, respectively.

Raisins are predominantly consumed as a snack but demand for raisins destined for the food processing indus-try is also increasing. Consumers tend to favour local fla-vours ( e.g. Xinjiang-produced green raisins ) over imported varieties that are often considered ‘too sweet’. As a result, imported raisins are mostly used for the food processing industry ( e.g. bakeries ), which prefer to use higher-quality imported raisins.

Imports of Afghan almonds ( both shelled and in-shell ) to China have been experiencing sustained growth, although the Chinese market remains dominated by almond imports from the United States. Almonds are typically consumed as a snack, as they are associated with a healthy lifestyle. Almonds are sold in retail outlets, convenience stores, su-permarkets and hypermarkets. Packaging for almonds rang-es from bags and cans to bulk quantities packed in boxes. Another nut product with potential in the Chinese market. China is a global leader in production, export and re-export of pine nuts. Chinese companies import unshelled pine nuts from Korea and Russia, process them and re-export them as Chinese pine nuts.

Geographic proximity and strong production of green raisins and almonds in Afghanistan both work in favour of Afghan exporters interested in tapping into the Chinese market. Additionally, the Afghan–Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry is working to provide marketing support to Afghan dried fruit and nut enterprises to facilitate access to China.

Distribution channels for this market are mainly wholesal-ers, particularly the Yide Lu wholesale market in Guangzhou, although e-commerce is emerging as a retail avenue with enormous potential to reach Chinese consumers. Attractive branding is a fundamental requirement to effectively tap into the most coveted Chinese distribution channels that supply high-income consumers.

Kazakhstan

Product : raisins

Kazakhstan is a vibrant market for raisins, with consumers particularly fond of red raisins. In 2016, Kazakhstan imported more than US $ 37 million of raisins, predominantly originat-ing in Uzbekistan ( 77 % of total raisin imports ), while imports from Afghanistan only accounted for 6.4 %. Both countries have been working on strengthening their trade relations and cooperation in agriculture, with the Kazakh Government agreeing to facilitate approval of visas for Afghan traders. Due to its strategic location, trade ties with Kazakhstan are crucial to reach more distant markets, especially the Russian Federation. Complying with SPS requirements to enter Kazakhstan will enable Afghan exporters to access the Belarusian and Russian markets, since they share a Customs union and have harmonized their SPS require-ments. It is worth noting that packaged food is becoming increasingly important for Kazakh buyers, especially among consumers in urban centres.

UAE

Products : walnuts ( shelled and in-shell ), almonds

The UAE is one of the leading destinations for almonds and walnuts. Between 2015 and 2016, total imports of walnuts ( in-shell ) to the UAE increased by 60 %. Almonds ( particu-larly in shelled form ) are in particularly high demand, with the UAE holding a dominant position in the global almond market as the fifth-largest importer. The UAE produces very little food domestically, while also experiencing growth in its ( high-income ) population and managing a booming luxury-focused tourism industry. These indicators suggest that the UAE is a ripe market for premium-grade dried fruits and nuts, with buyers willing to pay prices at the upper end of the global price spectrum as long as the quality is uncompro-mising. The UAE is also a regional re-exporter, with higher volumes of dried fruits and nuts imports during holiday sea-sons in order to re-package and ship to other destinations in the Middle East.

At present, Afghanistan exports relatively low quantities of almonds and walnuts to the UAE, with the United States dominating imports in these two products. This presents an enticing opportunity for Afghan traders, if – and only if – they can address quality control requirements. Afghan dried fruit and nut enterprises must have processing and sorting capacity sophisticated enough to consistently deliver the premium-grade products that the Emirati market demands.

Regulatory compliance is another critical considera-tion for Afghan traders looking to export to the UAE. In May 2017, the UAE banned imports of fruits and vegetables from five Arab countries after high levels of pesticides were de-tected. With a diverse, high-income population from around the world, the Emirati Government is increasingly stringent

46


on food safety and SPS. The UAE has specific packaging requirements for nuts, where “shelled roasted nuts, salted or sweetened” must be packed in metal cans, aluminium foil bags or plastic bags. Requirements for product labelling is another hurdle that Afghan traders must overcome, with deliberate research necessary to ensure that shipments of dried fruits and nuts adhere to the most up-to-date require-ments issued by the Emirati Government.

Box 6 : Export potential to the UAE of selected products

Two products with high, untapped export potential in the Emirati market are raisins and pistachios. While Afghan exporters have duty-free access to the Emirati market, they continue to sell their products at relatively low prices in both these product categories.*

Figure 18 : Export potential to the UAE – dried grapes

United Arab Emirates: HS 080620 – Dried grapes


USD 13,018 tsd

APPLIED TARIFF

DEMAND



COMPETITION


Main suppliers: Iran, India, China

• Regularions concerning terms of payment imports• Special Authorization requirement for SPS reasons• Prohibitions/restrictions of imports for SPS reasons

not elsewhere specified• Packaging requirements• Treatment for elimination of plant and animal pests

and disease-causing organisms in the final product• Testing requirement• Certification requirement• Inspection requirement• Quarantine requirement• Pre-shipment inspection• Custom inspection, processing and servicing fees• Merchandise handling or storing fees• Import licence fee• Systems Approach• Tolerance limits for residues of or contamination

by certain (non-microbiological) substances• Restricted use of certain substances in foods and feeds

and their contact materials• Labelling requirements• Hygienic requirements not elsewhere specified• Plant growth processes• Storage and transport conditions• Origin of materials and parts• Procvessing history• Import monitoring and surveillance requirements

and other automatic licensing measures• Additional charges not elsewhere specified• Distribution and location of products after delivery

(Original documents available at www.macmap.org) UNITED VALUE

Relative index: 0.7

USD 35.5 mn2011-2015

2020

20%

Figure 19 : Export potential to the UAE – fresh or dried pistachios

United Arab Emirates: HS 0802Xb – Fried or dried pistachios


USD 4,022 tsd

APPLIED TARIFF

DEMAND



COMPETITION


Main suppliers: Iran, United States, Syrian Arab Republic

• Regularions concerning terms of payment imports• Special Authorization requirement for SPS reasons• Prohibitions/restrictions of imports for SPS reasons

not elsewhere specified• Packaging requirements• Treatment for elimination of plant and animal pests

and disease-causing organisms in the final product• Testing requirement• Certification requirement• Inspection requirement• Quarantine requirement• Pre-shipment inspection• Custom inspection, processing and servicing fees• Merchandise handling or storing fees• Import licence fee• Systems Approach• Tolerance limits for residues of or contamination

by certain (non-microbiological) substances• Restricted use of certain substances in foods and feeds

and their contact materials• Labelling requirements• Hygienic requirements not elsewhere specified• Plant growth processes• Storage and transport conditions• Origin of materials and parts• Procvessing history• Import monitoring and surveillance requirements

and other automatic licensing measures• Additional charges not elsewhere specified• Distribution and location of products after delivery

(Original documents available at www.macmap.org) UNITED VALUE

Relative index: 1.1

USD 82.3 mn2011-2015

2020

20%

Source : ITC ( 2017 ) : Reconnecting Afghanistan to global markets – An ITC assessment of export potentials and trade obstacles.* ITC (2017) - Yvan Decreux, Maria Del Mar Cantero and Julia Spies: Reconnecting Afghanistan to global markets – An ITC assessment of export potentials and trade obstacles.



47

MEDIUM-TO-LONG-TERM PHASE

Table 21 : Medium to long-term phase

Target market

Product Key success factorsDistribution

channel

Afghan dried fruits and nuts exports

to market 2016 ( US $ thousands )

Annual growth of sector imports, all

suppliers,2012–2016 ( % )

Annual gross domestic product growth estimates

2017–2021 ( % )

Germany

Almonds, walnuts,

pine nuts, dried

apricots

• Sanitary safety and quality standards

• Grading• Food safety management system

( Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points )

Wholesalers, large


Italy

Almonds, walnuts,

pistachios• Sanitary safety and quality

standards ( aflatoxin ) Wholesalers 88 9.13 0.82

Spain

Almonds, almond

meal• Sanitary safety and quality

standards ( aflatoxin ) Wholesalers - 9.39 1.55

France Dried figs

• Sanitary safety and quality standards ( aflatoxin )

• Attractive product presentation Wholesalers - 5.66 2.06

United States

Dried apricots

• Sanitary safety and quality standards ( low pesticides levels )

• Certifications on good agricultural practices

Wholesalers, distributors

( selling to retailers,

supermarkets ) 1 399 8.47 2.08

Germany

Products : almonds, walnuts, dried apricots

Consumption of almonds in Germany has been increasing consistently, at an average annual rate of 11 % between 2012 and 2016. This growth in demand can be attributed, in part, to an increased awareness of the health benefits of dried fruits and nuts among consumers. Dried fruits and nuts are commonly consumed whole as a snack or as a raw ingredi-ent in other food products, e.g. chocolate, cereals and baked goods. Germany is an especially hot market for walnut trad-ers, as it is the single largest importer of walnuts in the world. German demand for walnuts is consistent throughout the year but spikes considerably during the winter holiday sea-son. German expectations for quality are uncompromising, with most walnuts entering Germany undergoing advanced machine shelling and sorting. Germany is also a leading im-porting market for pine nuts. This market is currently supplied with pine nuts imported from China and Pakistan.

Dried fruits are also popular in Germany, with its popu-lation consuming roughly 0.75 kg per capita per annum. This sums up to approximately 40,000 tons worth over EUR 210 million per year. Dried apricots account for approxi-mately 20 % of all dried fruit consumption, most of which are currently supplied by China ( 41.3 % of total import share ). Consumption is driven by a growing demand for natural

food without flavourings, while new packaging formats and recipes featuring dried apricots are also stimulating demand.

Two main challenges currently limit Afghan dried fruits and nuts exports in Germany : stringent quality stand-ards and well-established networks for sourcing ( in which Afghanistan does not feature prominently ). The EU heavily regulates food imports, with requirements related to tracea-bility, food contact materials, contamination ( special empha-sis on ochratoxins and aflatoxins ), food hygiene, labelling and packaging ( e.g. almonds must be presented in bags or solid containers of uniform weight for direct consumption and packaged in bulk ). Moreover, grading exists for prod-ucts such as walnuts, i.e. Extra Class, Class 1 and Class 2. Additionally, German buyers often insist that their suppliers adhere to even higher standards than those stipulated by law, such as the International Food Standard. Over the long term, the increased processing capacity of Afghan dried fruit and nut enterprises will strengthen Afghanistan’s ability to establish a place for itself in the German supply chain. Development cooperation between German government and non-government entities and the Afghan dried fruits and nuts sector will play a key role in facilitating market entry.

48


Box 7 : Export potential to Germany of selected products

While Afghanistan has already accessed the German market, its share of imports ( especially when it comes to raisins ) remains far lower than calculated potential.*

Figure 20 : Export potential to Germany – dried grapes

United Arab Emirates: HS 080620 – Dried grapes


USD 1,900 tsd

APPLIED TARIFF

DEMAND



COMPETITION


Main suppliers:Turkey, United States, South Africa

• Geographical restrictions of eligibility• Systems Approach• Special Authorization requirement for SPS reasons• Registration requirements for importers• Tolerance limits for residues of or contamination by

certain (non-microbiological) substances• Restricted use of certain substances in foods and feeds

and their contact materials• Microbiological criteria of the final product• Hygienic practices during production• Food and feed processing• Certification requirement• Inspection requirement• Traceability requirements• Origin of materials and parts• Processing history• Distribution and location of products after delivery• Authorization requirement for YBY reasons• Labelling requirements• Marking requirements• Product quality or performance requirement• Inspection requirement

(More information available at http: //exporthelp.europa.eu/thdapp/index.htm)

UNITED VALUE

Relative index: 0.9

USD 183.6 mn2011-2015

2020

10%

Source : ITC ( 2017 ) : Reconnecting Afghanistan

to global markets – An ITC assessment of

export potentials and trade obstacles.

Italy

Products : almonds, walnuts, pistachios

Italy is a major player in the global dried fruits and nuts mar-ket. Italy is the world’s largest consumer of walnuts ( in-shell ), the second-largest market for pistachios ( shelled ) and the fourth-largest consumer of almonds ( shelled ). Between 2012 and 2016, consumption of almonds, walnuts and pistachios rose, with annual growth rates of 16 %, 5 % and 14 %, for each respective product. Although Italy is also a producer of dried fruits and nuts, Italian production is insuf-ficient to meet domestic demand. Consequently, most do-mestic demand is satisfied through imports, with the United States the single largest supplier. Pistachios, almonds and walnuts are popular snacks, with additional demand coming from the food processing industry for such products as ice cream and baked goods. The EU food import regulations described in the preceding section also apply to Italy, and

negatively impact Afghan dried fruit and nut imports. As is the case with Germany, support from Italian government and non-government entities will be a crucial factor deter-mining success ( or failure ) for Afghan dried fruit and nut enterprises seeking to supply the Italian market.

France

Product : dried figs

France is another key target market for global suppliers of dried fruits and nuts. The reasons behind increased French demand include the rapid population shift to urban areas, and heightened interest in international foods and the health ben-efits associated with minimally processed ‘natural’ food prod-ucts. In the future, French consumers will likely continue to prefer attractively packaged and branded dried fruits and nuts sold through large hypermarkets and supermarkets, although other distribution channels exist to access smaller retailers.

Photo: (cc0) pixabay, green raisins


49

By emphasizing the Afghan origins of products in branding and packaging, Afghan traders could find a niche by sup-plying smaller-sized retailers that specialize in foreign foods. Another profitable niche market in France is for organic foods, although significant work by all stakeholders in the Afghan dried fruits and nuts sector must be undertaken to qualify for this label. Like their neighbours in the EU, the French are very attentive to matters of food safety ; all food imports to France must satisfy uncompromising standards and regulations.

Spain

Product : almonds

Spain is the world’s largest importer of shelled almonds, representing 14.4 % of all global imports. Between 2012 and 2016, Spanish almond imports grew at an annual rate of 22 %, indicating that demand is increasing at an accelerated pace. The United States is the leading supplier of shelled almonds to Spain. Spain is also a large re-exporter, par-ticularly to European countries. Spain is a long-established almond producer and re-exporter, which helps explain its dominant position as the second-largest world exporter of shelled almonds.

Almonds have a hallowed place in the Spanish kitchen, with heavy use as a raw ingredient in the confectionary and baked goods industries. Turrón, a beloved Spanish confec-tion, is produced in many varieties, all of which require al-monds as a key ingredient. Imports to Spain fall under the EU food safety regime, which has thus far limited entry for Afghan traders. The challenge for Afghan traders in Spain will not end once EU food safety compliance is achieved. Afghan almonds will have to compete with their American competitors on both price and quality. This will not be easy, considering America’s enormous economies of scale ( and resulting low production costs ) achieved through industrial-scale almond cultivation and processing.

United States

Product : dried apricots

The United States is a large, lucrative market for the dried fruits and nuts sector. America is the single largest importer of dried apricots, with 14.2 % of all global imports in 2016. At present, Turkey has a near monopoly of dried apricot im-ports to the United States, with a 96 % share. As is the case with European markets, high quality and food safety stand-ards are a prerequisite for market entry. Besides standards and regulations enforced by the United States Government, certain buyers require voluntary certifications on good ag-ricultural practices in order to reduce the risk of microbial contamination. The United States Department of Agriculture provides information regarding the grades and standards ( voluntary ) applicable to dried apricots. Dried apricots are commercially classified into grades in which size and qual-ity are both considered, from US Grade A ( or US Fancy ) to US Grade D ( or Substandard ) in addition to U.S. Grade A ( Slabs ) to Grade D ( Slabs ).

While the American market may be difficult to access in the short-term due to its strict regulations, long-term prospects for Afghan exporters look significantly better. The United States Government granted the Afghan dried fruits and nuts sector preferential tariff treatment through the Generalized System of Preferences programme. As a gen-eral theme that runs through most Western markets, Afghan traders also have the potential to tap into the demand for products certified as organic. In order to qualify for this product labelling, though, concerted research must be un-dertaken by sector stakeholders to ensure that Afghan prod-ucts meet the requirements of the United States Department of Agriculture.


50


Box 8 : Export potential to the United States of selected products

Afghan traders eyeing the United States market should explore op-portunities to sell dried figs to American buyers. Imports of dried figs from Afghanistan are subject to a very low tariff of 0.48 %, while imports from Afghanistan’s competitors ( Greece and Turkey ) pay 2.13 % of the sale amount in tariffs.*

Figure 21 : Export potential to the United States – dried figs

United States: HS 08420 – Fresh or dried figs

UNTAPPED EXPORT POTENTIAL DEMAND

USD 1,969 tsd

USD 22.8 mn2011-2015

2020

17%

APPLIED TARIFF



COMPETITION


Main suppliers: Turkey, Greece, Mexico

UNIT VALUE

Relative Index: 1.4

MARKET ENTRY REQUIREMENTSVarious measures apply. For more information, please review: http://www.macmap.org/CountryAnalysis/NTM/LinksResults.aspx?country=SCC842

Source : ITC ( 2017 ) : Reconnecting Afghanistan to global markets – An ITC assessment of export potentials and trade obstacles.

Box 9 : NES focus

Afghanistan has significant opportunities for diversification but current challenges in the supply side ( e.g. productive capacity ), institutional side ( e.g. quality control, linking with buyers ) and market-entry side ( e.g. movement of goods across borders ) all combine to prevent the Afghan dried fruits and nuts sector from reaching its full export potential.

The NES will enhance the ability of Afghan exporters to tap into these opportunities by :

• Stimulating the adoption of enhanced processing and packag-ing methods

• Promoting investment to improve the processing capacity of the sector

• Strengthening the Afghan standardization, quality, accredita-tion and metrology infrastructure

• Building a demand-driven skills pipeline based on market requirements

• Improving Customs relations and coordination with neigh-bouring countries.

[ ACHIEVING THE GOALS : VISION AND STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES ]

51

ACHIEVING THE GOALS : VISION AND STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

VISION

The Afghan dried fruits and nuts sector is united by the fol-lowing vision :

“ Afghan dried fruits and nuts : a taste of Afghanistan shared

around the world ”In order to fulfil this ambitious vision, the following strategic objectives have been identified. These objectives provide a framework for developing solutions over a five-year time frame. The strategic objectives agreed on by stakeholders to uphold the vision are as follows.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1 : INCREASE VOLUMES OF PRODUCTION THROUGH BETTER SECTOR COORDINATION, INTENSIFICATION OF MARKET-DRIVEN PRODUCTION AND REDUCED SPOILAGE.This strategic objective has the overall goal of increasing consistency and volume of production to improve export performance and competitiveness. On the inputs side, im-proving the availability of quality planting materials will be crucial for the industry. Imported seeds are currently vari-able in quality, which leads to low productivity in orchards. In response to this deficiency, activities will focus on the development of specialized fruit tree nurseries that will boost production of true-to-type seedlings. Using these seedlings to expand existing fruit and nut orchards will help boost pro-duction and increase consistency of yields.

Another component of this objective is to promote spe-cialization by encouraging farmers to focus on specific va-rieties that sell at premium prices in international markets. Accomplishing this requires two steps ; first, exhaustive re-search cataloguing Afghan varieties of dried fruits and nuts

and their market potential, followed by information sessions ( possibly delivered by way of farmer field schools and dem-onstration plots ) on high-value crops and what steps to take to cultivate them successfully.

A key element of this strategic objective will be to en-courage aggregation of production. Given that most raw material is collected from smallholders, efforts to support and enable the formation of sector farmers’ associations are crucial. Farmers’ associations will facilitate the distribu-tion of critical inputs to improve processing practices, such as dipping solutions to optimize drying times. Coordination between farmers and traders will be improved by the de-ployment of a pilot project to introduce simple technology to connect both ends. Peer-learning platforms will also in-crease knowledge-sharing on marketing opportunities and best farming practices among producers.

At present, agricultural extension services provided by MAIL are insufficient to provide for the needs of the sec-tor. Solutions for the remote delivery of extension services will be investigated and piloted. In order to reduce spoilage during production, opportunities to construct common stor-age facilities will be explored while establishing pest and disease control management practices in existing facilities. Communications media such as radio, television and post-ers in local agricultural communities will be instrumental in disseminating relevant sector information, including pricing information on dried fruits and nuts in key markets.

Convincing sector enterprises to ramp up production is one element necessary to achieve success in this objective. A related element is making sure farmers and sector enter-prises have the capital to expand operations. Actors along the sector value chain have different capital requirements at different times of the year. During the harvest period, pro-cessing companies require significant amounts of capital to purchase bulk quantities of fruits and nuts from smallhold-ers and begin performing value addition. In order to give the processing companies the means to aggregate yields and achieve economies of scale during the drying / roasting, sorting and grading stages, commercial banks should be encouraged ( or actively assisted through credit guarantees ) to develop financing products that are tailored to the needs of the sector.

52


Figure 22 : Future value chain – strategic objective 1St

rate

gic

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ctiv

e 1:

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f pro

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53

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2 : ENHANCE FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY ASSURANCE ACROSS THE VALUE CHAIN BY FOSTERING THE ADOPTION OF ENHANCED PROCESSING METHODS.This strategic objective is focused on improving the sec-tor’s ability to enter international markets by improving food safety compliance and quality assurance across the value chain, with an emphasis on upgrading processing methods.

At present, processing is a low-tech, predominately man-ual affair. This must change in order for the sector to improve food safety compliance and qualify for entry into coveted developed markets. Reforms must take place along the value chain, beginning with smallholders. A master training programme entailing farmer field schools will be instrumen-tal in demonstrating improved techniques through practical training. Targeted training for women, who play a leading role in postharvest processing, is a critical component at this stage. In order to accommodate cultural norms, train-ing and certification of female agricultural extension service providers can help build the capacity of women engaged in drying and roasting activities.

Another shortcoming in the early stages of the value chain is poor sorting and grading practices. This can be overcome in the short run through training that targets community pro-cessing facilities and traders. Efforts must also be made to increase awareness about SPS measures that reduce con-tamination of products. This will move Afghan dried fruits and nuts closer to achieving compliance with international quality standards.

Another key activity will be promoting investment op-portunities in the sector through the deployment of incen-tive packages to attract investors. Sector associations must also be supported to organize missions and exhibitions that promote investment opportunities in the sector. Thirty raisin processing centres exist in Afghanistan, although not all of them are fully operational. Limited resources can be opti-mized by upgrading technology in non-operational centres rather than constructing new processing centres. To develop economies of scale and better organize stakeholders, the Strategy addresses the need to establish an agro-industrial park with a specific section for dried fruits. It is proposed that the first agro-industrial park be in Kabul and be linked with the Customs office and air cargo operators for smooth operation.

Finally, improved quality certification can be achieved with the establishment of a quality certification programme for the sector. In parallel, the capacity of relevant agencies within the Afghan Government to enforce quality standards must be drastically enhanced.


54


Figure 23 : Future value chain – strategic objective 2

Stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ives

2: E

nhan

ce fo

od s

afet

y an

d qu

ality

assu

ranc

e by

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optio

n of

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ance

d pr

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uctio

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sem

bly

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essi

ngDi

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mes

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arke

t

Inpu

t Sup

ply

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h fru

its (v

aryi

ng q

ualit

y)

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/ mud

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r

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ng h

ouse

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age

faci

litie

s

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ng m

ats

or b

ambo

o tre

llises

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ur fo

rce

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essi

ng m

achi

nes

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rope

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ng to

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boo

cord

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latte

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tion

of p

otas

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r rai

sins

(s

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l Fam

ers

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l Tra

ders

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l tra

ders

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onal

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rate

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en

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ket

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l Re

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apes

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itorin

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of in

vest

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t opp

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tor

Rein

forc

e th

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plem

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e St

rate

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Fram

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end

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xten

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se re

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pro

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tens

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serv

ice

prov

ider

s


55

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3 : RECLAIM AFGHANISTAN’S PROMINENT GLOBAL REPUTATION THROUGH IMPROVED PACKAGING AND SOUND MARKET INSERTION STRATEGIES.

In order to improve the position of Afghan dried fruits and nuts in the global market, it is critical to establish modern packaging operations and develop systematic market en-try strategies. Currently, packaging and branding of Afghan dried fruits and nuts is limited to a handful of enterprises, with most traders consequently preferring to sell products in bulk at lower prices to regional buyers.

As part of the short-term strategy for the sector, add-ing value in existing markets through packaging will be pro-moted. This will entail training enterprises on international packaging requirements and practices. In order to increase economies of scale for currently operating packaging

facilities, a directory of available packaging services and suppliers will be developed and disseminated. A pilot initia-tive to promote the adoption of portable packaging units will facilitate access to packaging services for producers in remote areas.

Enhancing the provision of market intelligence to sector enterprises will further enable enterprises to seize oppor-tunities in international markets. Relevant information such as target market demand, consumer preferences, sector trends, niche markets and seasonal spikes in demand will further assist Afghan traders in determining where and when to sell their products to obtain optimal prices. In-market sup-port will also be needed to assist Afghan firms to participate in relevant international fairs and exhibitions.

Finally, targeted marketing efforts will be undertaken with the objective of improving the positioning of the Afghan brand. This will require a strategic marketing campaign that highlights the key selling points of Afghan dried fruits and nuts to potential international buyers.


56


Figure 24 : Future value chain – strategic objective 3

Prod

uctio

nAs

sem

bly

Proc

essi

ngDi

strib

utio

nDo

mes

tic m

arke

t

Inte

rnat

iona

l mar

ket

Stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ive

3: R

ecla

im A

fgha

nist

an’s

pro

min

ent g

loba

l rep

utat

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thro

ugh

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oved

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ng a

nd s

ound

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ket i

nser

tion

stra

tegi

es

Inpu

t Sup

ply

Fres

h fru

its (v

aryi

ng q

ualit

y)

Dry

/ mud

floo

r

Sun

Dryi

ng h

ouse

Stor

age

faci

litie

s

Dryi

ng m

ats

or b

ambo

o tre

llises

Labo

ur fo

rce

Proc

essi

ng m

achi

nes

Long

rope

s

Cutti

ngto

ols

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boo

cord

for f

latte

ring

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tion

of p

otas

sium

car

bona

te fo

r rai

sins

(s

carc

e)

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l Fam

ers

Rura

l Tra

ders

co

nnec

ted

to

loca

l tra

ders

Regi

onal

Co

llect

ors

(non

-re

frige

rate

d tra

nspo

rt in

sm

all

truck

s an

d 10

ton

truck

s)

Mid

dlem

en

Rura

l Tra

ders

co

nnec

ted

to

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stan

i tra

ders

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estic

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ue A

dditi

on

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ling

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litie

s

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ting

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litie

s

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ple

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ning

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ilitie

s

Furth

er D

ryin

g Fa

cilit

ies

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hing

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ilitie

s

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agin

g Fa

cilit

ies

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ing

Faci

litie

s

Bagg

ing

Faci

litie

s

Smal

l De

aler

s

Loca

l Tra

ders

in

Jala

laba

d an

d Pe

shaw

arM

argi

n: 5

% in

m

ost c

ases

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r-m

edia

ry

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l Ret

aile

rsAv

erag

e sa

les

7 to

ns p

er y

ear

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l Con

sum

ers

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apes

•Ap

ricot

s•

Figs

•Or

ange

s / C

itrus

•Pe

ache

s•

Guav

as•

Pers

imm

ons

&

Loqu

ats

•Pl

ums

•Ch

errie

s•

Mul

berri

es•

Mel

ons

•Pi

stac

hios

•Al

mon

ds•

Wal

nuts

Dom

inat

ing

Dire

ct S

ales

: dem

and

exce

eds

supp

ly, h

ence

farm

ers

are

able

to s

ell t

heir

prod

uce

loca

lly

Paki

stan

i Tr

ader

sDi

rect

shi

ppin

g to

Pa

kist

an b

y sk

ippi

ng

inef

ficie

nt A

fgha

n tra

ders

Expo

rt T

rade

rs•

Cons

olid

ate

prod

uce

and

who

lesa

le to

in

tern

atio

nal

mar

ket

•30

sm

all e

xpor

t tra

ders

•Tr

ade

arou

nd 5

-6

tons

per

yea

r•

5% p

rofit

Cust

oms

offic

e(m

inor

Cus

tom

s fe

e pa

id

but o

nly

a sm

all m

inor

ity o

f go

ods

are

run

thro

ugh)

Valu

e Ad

ditio

n be

hind

the

bord

er

•Re

pack

ing

•St

orin

g•

Re-e

xpor

ting

to h

ighe

r-

valu

e m

arke

ts•

Bran

ding

/ m

arke

ting

as P

akis

tani

pro

duct

s

Top

expo

rt d

estin

atio

ns•

Indi

a•

Russ

ian

Fede

ratio

n •

Kaza

khst

an•

Saud

i Ara

bia

•Ca

nada

•Un

ited

Stat

es•

Germ

any

•Be

laru

s•

Paki

stan

•Ch

ina

•UA

E•

Italy

•

Spai

nBr

andi

ng

Onlin

e an

d pr

inte

d ca

talo

gues

Awar

enes

s cr

eatio

n th

roug

h ev

ents

and

pro

mot

ion

Acce

ss to

pac

kagi

ng in

puts

Impr

oved

pac

kagi

ng

prac

tices

: pac

kagi

ng in

po

rtabl

e un

its

Yello

w b

ook

for s

uppl

iers

of

pack

agin

g m

ater

ial

Optim

ize ti

me

of

mar

ket e

ntry

Enha

nce

in-m

arke

t sup

port

Impr

ove

mar

ket i

ntel

ligen

ce s

ervi

ces

[ MOVING TO ACTION ]

57

MOVING TO ACTION

KEY REQUIREMENTS FOR EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION

The development of the future value chain for the dried fruits and nuts sector is a five-year project defined through a con-sultative process between Afghan public and private sector stakeholders. Achieving the strategic objectives and real-izing the future value chain depend heavily on the ability of sector stakeholders to start implementing and coordinating the activities defined in the Strategy’s PoA.

The Strategy in and of itself will not alone suffice to en-sure the sector’s sustainable development. Such devel-opment will require the coordination of various activities. While the execution of these activities will allow for the Strategy’s targets to be achieved, success will depend on the ability of stakeholders to plan and coordinate actions in a tactical manner. Apparently unrelated activities must be synchronized across the public sector, private sector, non-governmental organizations and local communities in order to create sustainable results.

To ensure the success of the Strategy, it is neces-sary to foster an adequate environment and create an appropriate framework for implementation. The follow-ing section presents some of the key success conditions considered necessary for effective implementation.

ESTABLISH AND OPERATIONALIZE A PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COORDINATING BODY AND EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT

Dried fruits and nuts sector steering committee

A key success criterion for the Strategy is the ability to coor-dinate activities, monitor progress and mobilize resources for implementation. It is recommended that a steering com-mittee comprised of key public and private sector entities be formed or supported ( if such a committee already ex-ists ). This will be a platform with balanced representation of all major sector stakeholders to share information in open communication.

It is proposed that the steering committee be responsi-ble for the following responsibilities related to Strategy implementation :

� Coordinate and monitor the implementation of the Strategy by the Government, private sector, institutions or international organizations to ensure implementation is on track ;

� Identify and recommend allocation of resources neces-sary for the implementation of the Strategy ;

� Assess the effectiveness and the impact of the Strategy ; � Ensure consistency with the Government’s existing

policies, plans and strategies, and align institutions’ and agencies’ internal plans and interventions with the Strategy PoA ;

� Elaborate and recommend revisions and enhancements to the Strategy so that it continues to best respond to the needs and long-term interests of the national business and export community ;

� Propose key policy changes to be undertaken based on Strategy priorities and promote these policy changes among national decision makers ;

� Guide the sector secretariat for the monitoring, coordi-nation, resource mobilization, and policy advocacy and communication functions to enable effective implementa-tion of the Strategy ;

� Provide the sector secretariat with the mandate and the necessary resources to fulfil its functions effectively.

Composition of the dried fruits and nuts sector steering committeeIt is recommended that the steering committee be com-prised of key entities involved in the sector, with special fo-cus on ensuring equitable involvement of both public and private sectors.

Secretariat

A secretariat will assist the steering committee by acting as an operational body responsible for the daily coordination, monitoring and mobilization of resources for implementing the PoA. It is proposed that it takes on this role with techni-cal support from key ministries and technical agencies. The secretariat will be composed of 1–2 technical operators.

58


The core responsibilities of the sector secretariat should be to : � Support functioning of the steering committee � Collect and manage data to monitor progress and the

impact of Strategy implementation � Liaise with and coordinate development partners for

Strategy implementation � Elaborate project proposals and build partnerships to

mobilize resources to implement the Strategy � Follow up on policy advocacy recommendations from the

steering committee � Ensure effective communication and networking for suc-

cessful Strategy implementation.

Both the steering committee and its secretariat will work hand-in-hand with existing entities established to stream-line government operations and enhance donor operations. These include the NES secretariat and others. The secre-tariat may be accommodated as part of an existing entity with an extended mandate and resources allocated to it.


PLAN OF ACTION

60


Stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ive

1 : In

crea

se v

olum

es o

f pro

duct

ion

thro

ugh

bette

r sec

tor c

oord

inat

ion,

inte

nsifi

catio

n of

mar

ket-d

riven

pro

duct

ion

and

redu

ced

spoi

lage

.

Oper

atio

nal o

bjec

tives

Activ

ities

Prio

rity

1=hi

gh

2=m

ed

3=lo

w

Impl

emen

tatio

n pe

riod

Targ

et*

Lead

and

sup

porti

ng

impl

emen

ters

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

1.1.

Org

anize

a p

rivat

e–pu

blic

pla

tform

to c

oord

i-na

te s

ecto

r dev

elop

men

t ef

forts

.

1.1.

1. E

stabl

ish a

spec

ialize

d se

ctor p

latfo

rm co

mpo

sed

of d

ried

fruits

and

nuts

secto

r stak

ehol

ders

in or

der t

o inc

rease

pr

ivate–

publ

ic di

alogu

e and

colla

borat

ion

in th

e sec

tor,

and

for i

ts de

velo

pmen

t.1

• Se

ctor h

igh-

level

plat-

form

estab

lishe

dM

oCI,

ARFV

EPA,

Af

ghan

istan

Dry

Fruit

Ex

porte

rs As

socia

tion,

ACC

I1.

1.2.

Sec

tor p

latfo

rm to

hol

d m

eetin

gs o

n a r

egul

ar ba

sis to

enco

urag

e pub

lic–p

rivate

par

tner

ship

s, ex

plor

e area

s of

com

mon

inter

est,

exch

ange

view

s, sh

are in

form

ation

and

netw

ork.

• Se

ctor p

latfo

rm to

mon

itor t

his S

ecto

r Stra

tegy d

evelo

pmen

t pro

cess

by s

etting

up

a joi

nt m

onito

ring

unit

unde

r the

pl

atfor

m, e

stabl

ishing

mon

itorin

g sy

stem

s and

repo

rting

bac

k to

the s

teerin

g co

mm

ittee

. Joi

nt m

onito

ring

unit

to b

e co

mpo

sed

of b

oth

publ

ic an

d pr

ivate

secto

r rep

resen

tative

s.•

Secto

r plat

form

to m

obili

ze re

sour

ces a

nd ad

voca

cy ef

forts

for t

he im

plem

entat

ion

of th

is Se

ctor S

trateg

y.

1•

Quar

terly

mee

tings

co

nduc

tedM

oCI,

ARFV

EPA,

Af

ghan

istan

Dry

Fruit

Ex

porte

rs As

socia

tion

1.2.

Stre

ngth

en s

ecto

r co-

ordi

natio

n to

ena

ble

pro-

duct

ivity

enh

ance

men

ts.

1.2.

1. S

uppo

rt th

e for

mati

on an

d str

engt

henin

g of

exist

ing se

ctor f

armer

s’ as

socia

tions

( e.g

. ARF

VEPA

, Afg

hanis

tan D

ry Fr

uit E

xpor

ters A

ssoc

iatio

n ).

• Th

roug

h wo

rksho

ps, c

apac

itate

on re

gistr

ation

pro

cedu

res to

form

asso

ciatio

ns /

coop

erati

ves a

nd p

rom

ote t

he ex

pan-

sion

of m

embe

rship

of e

xistin

g dr

ied fr

uit an

d nu

t ass

ociat

ions

in se

lect p

rodu

ction

hub

s.•

Prom

ote a

mon

g ind

ividu

al far

mer

s the

form

ation

and

stren

gthe

ning

of as

socia

tions

to co

oper

ate to

fulfi

l con

tracts

, co-

ordi

nate

harve

sts an

d fac

ilitat

e mark

eting

and

distr

ibut

ion

of cr

itica

l inp

uts f

or p

roce

ssing

.

2•

Two

works

hops

con-

ducte

d an

nuall

y in

four

m

ain p

rodu

ction

pro

v-inc

es, i

nclu

ding

Maz

ar-e-

Shari

f and

Her

at

MAI

L, M

inistr

y of J

ustic

e, M

inistr

y of R

ural

Reha

bilit

ation

an

d De

velo

pmen

t ( M

oRRD

), Fr

esh

Fruit

and

Vege

table

Expo

rters

Unio

n, A

RFVE

PA,

Afgh

anist

an D

ry Fr

uit E

xpor

ters

Asso

ciatio

n, A

CCI

1.2.

2. S

treng

then

exist

ing as

socia

tions

/coo

perat

ives t

hrou

gh ca

pacit

y-bu

ilding

wor

ksho

ps fo

r the

ir lea

ders.

Inclu

de

traini

ng o

n :

• Le

ader

ship

and

busin

ess m

anag

emen

t skil

ls an

d ho

w to

pro

vide m

embe

r-orie

nted

servi

ces (

e.g.

mark

eting

).•

Finan

cial s

kills

( e.g

. boo

kkee

ping

, loa

n ap

plica

tion )

.•

Colle

ctive

sour

cing

of n

on-c

ompe

titive

inpu

ts.•

Mark

eting

and

cont

ract n

egot

iatio

n sk

ills.

• Co

ach

leade

rs to

med

iate w

ith ex

terna

l res

ourc

e ins

titut

ions

, suc

h as

the G

over

nmen

t and

fina

ncial

insti

tutio

ns.

• Tra

in bu

sines

s ass

ociat

ions

and

secto

r ent

erpr

ises i

n tax

ation

regu

latio

ns an

d ad

mini

strati

ve p

roce

dures

. Crea

te aw

arene

ss th

roug

h ot

her c

omm

unica

tion

chan

nels,

e.g.

bro

chur

es, l

eafle

ts, o

n tax

regu

latio

ns an

d pr

oced

ures

and

the

bene

fits o

f for

mali

zing

busin

esse

s.

2•

Five w

orks

hops

held

an

nuall

yM

AIL,

ARF

VEPA

, Afg

hanis

tan

Dry F

ruit

Expo

rters

Asso

ciatio

n

1.2.

3. O

rgan

ize b

usine

ss-to

-bus

iness

( B2B

) eve

nts i

n m

ain p

rodu

cing

hubs

to co

nnec

t lea

ders

of p

rodu

cers’

asso

cia-

tions

, trad

ers a

nd p

roce

ssing

com

panie

s and

facil

itate

the e

stabl

ishm

ent o

f bus

iness

relat

ions

hips a

mon

g po

ssib

le ne

w tra

ding

par

tner

s.Up

grad

e / es

tablis

h ne

w ag

ricul

tural

fairs

to fa

cilita

te bu

sines

s rela

tions

hips.

3•

Two

B2B

even

ts he

ld an

-nu

ally,

in fiv

e loc

ation

sM

AIL,

MoC

I, AC

CI

1.3.

Fos

ter m

arke

t-driv

en

supp

ly a

nd c

ultiv

atio

n of

qu

ality

see

ds a

nd p

lant

ing

mat

eria

l.

1.3.

1. U

nder

take a

qua

lity p

lantin

g m

ateria

ls pr

opag

ation

pro

gram

me f

or n

ut p

rodu

ction

thro

ugh

pilo

t init

iative

s in

the

main

dom

estic

pro

ducti

on h

ubs i

n Ka

bul,

Herat

and

Kand

ahar.

Acti

vities

relat

ed to

fruit

pro

ducti

on ar

e cov

ered

in th

e Fr

esh

Fruit

s and

Veg

etabl

es S

trateg

y.

• Se

t up

a tec

hnica

l fram

ewor

k at t

he n

ation

al an

d pr

ovinc

ial le

vel t

o de

sign

and

impl

emen

t the

pro

gram

me.

• Us

e esta

blish

ed /

estab

lish

new

mot

her t

ree n

urse

ries (

e.g.

buil

d on

the s

ucce

ss o

f Afg

hanis

tan N

ation

al Nu

rsery

Grow

ers’

Orga

nizati

on ( A

NNGO

) nur

serie

s ) an

d res

tore

old

tree n

urse

ries i

n ke

y sele

cted

regio

ns to

facil

itate

acce

ss

to q

ualit

y see

ds an

d pl

antin

g m

ateria

ls fo

r farm

ers.

Prom

otio

n of

spec

ific v

arieti

es b

ased

on :

–Lo

cal a

groc

limati

c con

ditio

ns –

Pred

ictab

le m

arket

dem

and

and

mark

et pe

rform

ance

( e.g

. tru

e-to

-type

varie

ties o

f alm

onds

focu

sing

on q

ualit

y so

ft sh

ell-a

lmon

ds su

ch as

Sat

arba

i and

prem

ium ke

rnels

of t

he S

hoko

rbai

hard

-she

ll alm

ond

varie

ty ).

• W

ork w

ith A

NNGO

to su

ppor

t the

expa

nsio

n of

pro

gram

mes

for t

he d

evelo

pmen

t of d

iseas

e-fre

e cer

tifica

tion

sche

mes

.•

Mot

her t

ree n

urse

ries t

o fu

nctio

n als

o as

dem

onstr

ation

farm

s for

bes

t prac

tices

on

seed

selec

tion,

pro

ducti

on an

d qu

ality

cont

rol,

targe

ting

farm

ers a

nd ex

tensio

n ag

ents

thro

ugh

the p

rovis

ion

of p

artic

ipato

ry tra

ining

s. Pr

ovid

e tec

hni-

cal s

uppo

rt to

farm

ers o

n va

riety

selec

tion

( hig

h qu

ality

and

dise

ase-

free v

arieti

es ) a

nd in

tensiv

e cul

tivati

on o

f nut

s.

2•

500

tree n

urse

ries e

s-tab

lishe

d / r

esto

redM

AIL,

ANN

GO

* Ta

rget

s ar

e in

dica

tive

only

and

will

be

the

subj

ect o

f fur

ther

refin

emen

t at t

he b

egin

ning

of t

he im

plem

enta

tion

man

agem

ent s

tage

. Sim

ilarly

, the

lead

and

sup

porti

ng im

plem

ente

rs c

olum

n re

mai

ns in

dica

tive

as th

e im

plem

enta

tion

will

requ

ire c

olle

ctiv

e ef

forts

, for

whi

ch a

dditi

onal

inst

itutio

ns m

ay b

e ad

ded.

[ PLAN OF ACTION ]

61

Stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ive

1 : In

crea

se v

olum

es o

f pro

duct

ion

thro

ugh

bette

r sec

tor c

oord

inat

ion,

inte

nsifi

catio

n of

mar

ket-d

riven

pro

duct

ion

and

redu

ced

spoi

lage

.

Oper

atio

nal o

bjec

tives

Activ

ities

Prio

rity

1=hi

gh

2=m

ed

3=lo

w

Impl

emen

tatio

n pe

riod

Targ

et*

Lead

and

sup

porti

ng

impl

emen

ters

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

1.3.

Fos

ter m

arke

t-driv

en

supp

ly a

nd c

ultiv

atio

n of

qu

ality

see

ds a

nd p

lant

ing

mat

eria

l.

1.3.

2. C

ondu

ct res

earc

h to

iden

tify b

est-s

uited

pist

achio

varie

ties f

or p

rodu

ction

.

• La

unch

a va

riety

testin

g ini

tiativ

e in

selec

t loc

ation

s.•

Invol

ve se

lected

farm

ers i

n th

e res

earc

h by

pro

viding

them

with

diff

erent

type

s of p

istac

hio va

rietie

s to

culti

vate.

• Af

ter th

e end

of t

he se

ason

, col

lect a

nd an

alyse

info

rmati

on re

gard

ing th

e tria

l of v

arieti

es.

• Or

ganiz

e a p

ublic

foru

m to

disc

uss w

ith ex

tensio

n wo

rkers,

rese

arche

rs an

d far

mer

s in

key p

rovin

ces t

he re

sults

of t

he

varie

ty tes

ting

initia

tive.

• Fo

r the

iden

tified

varie

ties,

form

ulate

a fiv

e-ye

ar se

ed d

evelo

pmen

t rol

ling

plan

( by c

atego

ry, va

riety

and

prov

ince )

.•

Pilot

the e

stabl

ishm

ent o

f dom

estic

pist

achio

orc

hard

s.

3•

Rese

arch

cond

ucted

• At

leas

t 100

pist

achio

or

chard

s esta

blish

ed

in at

least

four

diff

erent

pr

ovinc

es

Afgh

anis

tan

Rese

arch

and

Ev

alua

tion

Unit

( ARE

U ),

MoR

RD, M

AIL,

ACCI

1.3.

3. P

rom

ote t

he cu

ltiva

tion

of q

ualit

y cro

ps /

varie

ties.

Orga

nize v

ariety

exhib

ition

s thr

ough

loca

l fair

s to

prom

ote t

he

bene

fits o

f bes

t-suit

ed cr

ops a

nd va

rietie

s ( e.

g. ec

onom

ic via

bilit

y, res

istan

ce to

pes

ts, w

ater u

ptak

e and

mark

et op

por-

tunit

ies ).

Enco

urag

e int

erac

tion

and

disc

ussio

n wi

th fa

rmer

s reg

arding

the c

ultiv

ation

of s

uch

crop

s / va

rietie

s.

2•

Two

fairs

cond

ucted

on

a qu

arter

ly ba

sis

in fo

ur p

rovin

ces,

in-clu

ding

Kan

daha

r and

M

azar-

e-Sh

arif

MAI

L

1.3.

4. Im

prov

e diss

emina

tion

of m

arket-

relate

d inf

orm

ation

to fa

rmer

s by :

• St

rengt

henin

g m

arketi

ng sk

ills a

nd m

arket

infor

mati

on o

f exte

nsio

n sta

ff th

roug

h sh

ort c

ourse

s. To

pics

to in

clude

: –

Mark

et op

portu

nities

for l

ocal

varie

ties,

such

as n

iche m

arkets

and

prem

iums.

–Pr

icing

and

cont

ract n

egot

iatio

n sk

ills.

• Ad

optin

g so

lutio

ns fo

r rem

ote d

elive

ry of

exten

sion

servi

ces :

–Ide

ntify

appr

opria

te ch

anne

ls su

ch as

radi

o, te

levisi

on an

d po

sters

to d

elive

r key

tech

nical

agric

ultu

ral in

form

ation

to

farm

ers,

in as

socia

tion

with

relev

ant r

adio

and

telev

ision

chan

nels.

Rele

vant

info

rmati

on to

be p

rovid

ed w

ould

inc

lude

mark

et tre

nds p

er su

bpro

duct

and

prici

ng in

form

ation

of f

ruits

and

nuts

in / o

ut o

f the

ir pr

ovinc

es.

3•

Two

shor

t cou

rses c

on-

ducte

d to

50

exten

sion

staff

annu

ally

• Tw

o co

mm

unica

tion

chan

nels

are se

t up

to p

rovid

e sys

temati

c m

arket

infor

mati

on an

d di

ssem

inated

in at

leas

t fo

ur p

rovin

ces

MAI

L, M

oCI,

ACCI

, Mini

stry

of C

omm

unica

tions

and

Infor

mati

on Te

chno

logy

, M

inistr

y of I

nfor

mati

on an

d Cu

lture

1.4.

Ena

ble

the

expa

nsio

n of

pro

duct

ion

area

s.1.

4.1.

Pro

mot

e farm

-leve

l inv

estm

ent t

hrou

gh la

nd co

nsol

idati

on to

enab

le far

mer

s to

reach

pos

itive

savin

gs an

d rei

n-ve

st th

eir ea

rning

s.

• Co

ordi

nate

the p

rovis

ion

of w

orks

hops

by b

anks

for p

rodu

cers

on ke

y fina

ncial

liter

acy t

opics

such

as sa

vings

, mak

ing

loan

appl

icatio

ns an

d m

anag

ing lo

ans,

as w

ell as

exist

ing fi

nanc

ial o

ptio

ns.

• De

ploy

affo

rdab

le cr

edit

for i

nput

s to

prod

ucer

s’ as

socia

tions

thro

ugh

com

merc

ial b

anks

, in

com

plian

ce w

ith Is

lamic

bank

ing.

2•

Four

wor

ksho

ps tw

ice a

year

in fo

ur m

ain p

ro-

ducti

on p

rovin

ces,

in-clu

ding

Kan

daha

r and

M

azar-

e-Sh

arif

Min

istry

of F

inan

ce ( M

oF ),

Da A

fgha

nistan

Ban

k, AC

CI,

MoC

I, M

AIL,

Afgh

anist

an B

anks

As

socia

tion

1.4.

2. D

evelo

p an

d ro

ll ou

t a la

nd co

nsol

idati

on p

lan in

key l

ocati

ons.

Plan

a lan

d rea

djus

tmen

t to

form

larg

er an

d m

ore

ratio

nal l

and

hold

ings,

taking

into

acco

unt a

grari

an sp

ecial

plan

ning

to co

nsid

er th

e nec

essa

ry inf

rastru

cture

requir

ed fo

r th

e use

of c

onso

lidate

d lan

d ( e

.g. i

rriga

tion

syste

ms,* so

il co

nser

vatio

n, et

c. )

• En

cour

age i

nves

tmen

t by e

nsur

ing o

wner

ship

( sec

ure r

ight

to la

nd ),

trans

ferab

ility

and

trans

form

abili

ty of

capi

tal

thro

ugh

good

gov

erna

nce a

nd ru

le of

law.

2•

Land

cons

olid

ation

pl

an ro

lled

out i

n fo

ur

prov

inces

, inc

lud-

ing K

anda

har a

nd

Maz

ar-e-

Shari

f

Afgh

anis

tan

Inde

pend

ent

Land

Aut

horit

y, Af

ghan

istan

Ba

nks A

ssoc

iatio

n, A

fgha

nistan

Ins

titut

e of B

ankin

g an

d Fin

ance

, ACC

I

* S

peci

fic a

ctio

ns to

impr

ove

irrig

atio

n m

anag

emen

t sys

tem

s ha

ve b

een

outli

ned

by th

e E

xecu

tive

Com

mitt

ee o

n P

rivat

e S

ecto

r Dev

elop

men

t, W

orki

ng G

roup

2: A

gric

ultu

re, T

rade

and

SM

Es

(Priv

ate

Sec

tor R

efor

m P

riorit

y #

1). T

he D

ried

Frui

ts a

nd N

uts

Stra

tegy

is a

ligne

d w

ith a

nd s

uppo

rtive

of t

hese

effo

rts.

62


Stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ive

1 : In

crea

se v

olum

es o

f pro

duct

ion

thro

ugh

bette

r sec

tor c

oord

inat

ion,

inte

nsifi

catio

n of

mar

ket-d

riven

pro

duct

ion

and

redu

ced

spoi

lage

.

Oper

atio

nal o

bjec

tives

Activ

ities

Prio

rity

1=hi

gh

2=m

ed

3=lo

w

Impl

emen

tatio

n pe

riod

Targ

et*

Lead

and

sup

porti

ng

impl

emen

ters

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

1.5.

Red

uce

dam

age

/ spo

ilage

of p

rodu

cts

thro

ugh

expa

ndin

g ac

cess

to

war

ehou

sing

faci

litie

s.

1.5.

1. S

uppo

rt an

d str

engt

hen

initia

tives

for c

onstr

uctio

n of

small

/ m

edium

-size

d wa

rehou

sing

at bo

rder

cont

rol p

oint

s an

d in

cent

ral w

holes

ale lo

catio

ns, a

s well

as n

ear t

he ai

rpor

t. W

areho

uses

can

facili

tate c

oord

inatio

n be

twee

n far

mer

s an

d pr

oces

sors,

and

allev

iate h

arves

t pres

sure

asso

ciated

with

poo

r col

d ch

ain in

frastr

uctu

re. W

areho

uses

can

also

serve

as

hub

s whe

re far

mer

s can

aggr

egate

their

pro

duce

for s

ale to

trad

ers a

nd im

prov

e the

ir ba

rgain

ing p

ositi

on ( e

.g. K

host

prov

ince w

here

there

is an

impo

rtant

nee

d of

cold

stor

age f

acili

ties f

or p

ine n

uts p

rodu

ction

).

• Es

tablis

h ac

cess

ible

publ

ic wa

rehou

ses (

i.e. a

cces

s to

storag

e is a

vaila

ble t

o an

yone

after

pay

ing w

areho

use c

harg

es )

thro

ugh

publ

ic inv

estm

ent,

base

d on

feas

ibili

ty stu

dies

of w

areho

using

nee

ds fo

r the

secto

r. Ad

ditio

nal s

ervic

es m

ay

inclu

de p

roce

ssing

, pac

kagi

ng an

d lab

elling

of p

rodu

cts.

• Cr

eate

stand

ard w

areho

using

requ

irem

ents

( e.g

. tem

perat

ures

, dim

ensio

ns ) i

n lin

e with

inter

natio

nal s

tanda

rds a

nd

norm

s, as

guid

eline

s for

each

subp

rodu

ct. S

pecif

ic req

uirem

ents

shou

ld b

e pro

vided

to av

oid

cont

amina

tion

of d

ried

grap

es w

ith o

chrat

oxin

A du

ring

storag

e.

Follo

wing

are e

xam

ples

of s

pecif

icatio

ns fo

r alm

ond

storag

e :

• Ide

al co

ld st

orag

e con

ditio

ns ( <

5°C

and

<65

°C re

lative

hum

idity

) for

who

le na

tural

alm

onds

.•

Room

tem

perat

ure b

etwee

n 20

°C an

d 25

°C fo

r sto

ring

almon

ds in

tigh

tly se

aled

cont

ainer

s.•

Ensu

re ke

rnels

are n

ot ex

pose

d to

hea

vy o

dour

s so

the f

lavou

r is n

ot co

ntam

inated

.

Roll

out a

cour

se o

n sto

rage m

anag

emen

t targ

eting

farm

ers’

asso

ciatio

ns an

d co

oper

ative

s, ba

sed

on th

e crea

ted w

are-

hous

ing re

quire

men

ts.

2•

At le

ast 4

0 wa

rehou

ses

are es

tablis

hed

MAI

L, M

oRRD

, ACC

I, M

oF

1.5.

2. S

uppo

rt lo

cal a

ssoc

iatio

ns to

dev

elop

wareh

ouse

s ind

epen

dent

ly, th

roug

h th

e crea

tion

of ta

ilored

cred

it sc

hem

es

in as

socia

tion

with

com

merc

ial b

anks

.3

• Cr

edit

sche

me c

reated

an

d di

ssem

inated

Da A

fgha

nist

an B

ank,

MoF

, M

oCI,

ACCI

1.5.

3. E

stabl

ish p

roce

dures

for p

est c

ontro

l in

storag

e fac

ilitie

s

• Ide

ntify

com

mon

ware

hous

e pes

ts an

d es

tablis

h wr

itten

pro

cedu

res fo

r the

prev

entio

n of

com

mon

pes

ts an

d fo

r the

us

e of s

ustai

nabl

e pes

t man

agem

ent m

ethod

s in

storag

e fac

ilitie

s, co

nsid

ering

inter

natio

nally

appr

oved

pes

ticid

es

and

dose

s ( e.

g. m

axim

um re

sidue

leve

l for

drie

d gr

apes

allo

wed

by th

e EU )

.•

Com

mun

icate

estab

lishe

d pr

oced

ures

thro

ugh

appr

opria

te ch

anne

ls su

ch as

pos

ters.

Orga

nize s

hort

cour

ses t

argeti

ng

farm

ing as

socia

tions

/ co

oper

ative

s.

3•

Pest

cont

rol p

roce

dure

estab

lishe

d•

Two

shor

t cou

rses a

re co

nduc

ted an

nuall

y in

five s

elect

loca

tions

Min

istry

of P

ublic

Hea

lth,

MAI

L, M

oRRD

, ANS

A

[ PLAN OF ACTION ]

63

Stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ive

2 : E

nhan

ce fo

od s

afet

y an

d qu

ality

ass

uran

ce a

cros

s th

e va

lue

chai

n by

fost

erin

g th

e ad

optio

n of

enh

ance

d pr

oces

sing

met

hods

.

Oper

atio

nal

obje

ctiv

esAc

tiviti

esPr

iorit

y 1=

high

2=

med

3=

low

Impl

emen

tatio

n pe

riod

Targ

ets

Lead

and

sup

porti

ng

impl

emen

ters

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2.1.

Bui

ld fi

rms’

ca-

paci

ties

to m

anag

e th

eir s

uppl

y ch

ain

in

line

with

inte

rnat

iona

l fo

od s

afet

y pr

actic

es.

2.1.

1. In

crea

se fi

rms’

capa

city t

o im

plem

ent f

ood

safet

y man

agem

ent s

ystem

s in

the s

uppl

y cha

in th

roug

h th

e rol

lout

of s

hort

cour

ses.

• De

velo

p cu

rricu

lum

and

cour

se m

ateria

l on

the f

ollo

wing

topi

cs :

–Bu

sines

s man

agem

ent

–Fo

od sa

fety m

anag

emen

t –

Myc

otox

in ( a

flato

xin /

ochr

atoxin

A ) p

reven

tion,

cont

rol a

nd m

anag

emen

t bas

ed o

n Ha

zard

Ana

lysis

and

Criti

cal C

ontro

l Po

ints.

• Pr

epare

train

ing m

anua

ls ac

cord

ingly.

• Co

nduc

t cou

rses t

o se

ctor s

mall

and

med

ium-s

ized

enter

prise

s ( SM

Es ) a

nd ex

porte

rs.

1•

Three

shor

t cou

rs-es

targ

eting

30

SMEs

, an

nuall

y

ANSA

, MoC

IM

AIL,

ACCI

2.1.

2. O

rgan

ize st

udy t

ours

for s

elect

firm

s to

unde

rstan

d fo

od sa

fety r

equir

emen

ts an

d be

st pr

oduc

tion

and

proc

essin

g pr

ac-

tices

in ke

y loc

ation

s ( e.

g. Tu

rkey )

. 3

• On

e stu

dy to

ur a

year

bene

fiting

at le

ast f

ive

SMEs

MoC

IM

AIL,

ACCI

2.1.

3. D

evelo

p a s

chem

e aim

ed at

upg

rading

the s

kills

of em

ploy

ees i

n th

e sec

tor.

• Th

roug

h a c

ompe

titive

pro

cess

, crea

te a g

rant t

o su

ppor

t sho

rt-ter

m sk

ills t

rainin

g fo

r wor

kers

in fo

rmal

enter

prise

s on

best

proc

essin

g pr

actic

es.

3•

Gran

t is d

esig

ned

and

bene

fits a

t lea

st fiv

e SM

Es a

year

MoC

IM

AIL,

ACCI

2.2.

Stim

ulat

e th

e ad

optio

n of

bes

t pra

c-tic

es b

y en

hanc

ing

awar

enes

s an

d sk

ills

in th

e se

ctor

.

2.2.

1. D

evelo

p a t

rainin

g pr

ogram

me o

n be

st pr

oduc

tion

and

proc

essin

g pr

actic

es, i

nclu

ding

qua

lity a

nd fo

od sa

fety i

ssue

s, wi

th a

parti

cular

focu

s on

SPS

and

quali

ty sta

ndard

s com

plian

ce, c

onsid

ering

myc

otox

in co

ntam

inatio

n is

poss

ible

acro

ss th

e va

lue c

hain.

• De

velo

p th

e cur

ricul

a and

teac

hing

mate

rials

for t

he p

rogr

amm

e. Us

e the

man

ual o

n sm

all-s

cale

fruit

and

vege

table

proc

ess-

ing. D

evelo

p m

anua

ls / t

each

ing m

ateria

l in

loca

l lan

guag

es fo

r oth

er sm

all-s

cale

and

large

-sca

le ag

ri-pr

oces

sing

activ

ities

in

Afgh

anist

an, b

ased

on

inter

natio

nal f

ood

safet

y stan

dard

s.•

Set u

p an

insti

tutio

nal f

ramew

ork t

o op

erati

onali

ze th

e trai

ning

prog

ramm

e, all

owing

for a

mul

tiplie

r effe

ct th

roug

h ex

tensio

n se

rvice

s and

farm

er fi

eld sc

hool

s.•

Ident

ify ke

y farm

ers’

orga

nizati

ons a

nd co

oper

ative

s to

serve

as n

uclei

for s

elect

pilo

t init

iative

s : –

Evalu

ate th

e rea

ch o

f farm

ers’

orga

nizati

ons a

nd th

eir p

ast w

ork i

n th

e drie

d fru

its an

d nu

ts va

lue c

hain.

–Ev

aluate

the i

mpl

emen

tatio

n ca

pacit

y of s

electe

d or

ganiz

ation

s and

crea

te a p

rofil

e for

each

org

aniza

tion.

• Se

lect,

sens

itize

and

train

prog

ramm

e fac

ilitat

ors.

• Ro

ll ou

t a p

rogr

amm

e to

train

wom

en ex

tensio

n se

rvice

pro

vider

s to

enab

le wo

men

-to-w

omen

servi

ce d

elive

ry at

ever

y stag

e of

valu

e cha

in, w

ith p

artic

ular

emph

asis

on th

e earl

y stag

es ( e

.g. s

ortin

g, d

rying

) whe

re th

ere is

a str

ong

female

pres

ence

.

1•

Traini

ng in

itiati

ve se

t up

and

rolle

d ou

tM

AIL,

Mini

stry o

f Wom

en’s

Affai

rs, A

fgha

nistan

Wom

en

Cham

ber o

f Com

merc

e and

Ind

ustry

, ACC

I

64


Stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ive

2 : E

nhan

ce fo

od s

afet

y an

d qu

ality

ass

uran

ce a

cros

s th

e va

lue

chai

n by

fost

erin

g th

e ad

optio

n of

enh

ance

d pr

oces

sing

met

hods

.

Oper

atio

nal

obje

ctiv

esAc

tiviti

esPr

iorit

y 1=

high

2=

med

3=

low

Impl

emen

tatio

n pe

riod

Targ

ets

Lead

and

sup

porti

ng

impl

emen

ters

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2.2.

Stim

ulat

e th

e ad

optio

n of

bes

t pra

c-tic

es b

y en

hanc

ing

awar

enes

s an

d sk

ills

in th

e se

ctor

.

2.2.

2. La

unch

the t

rainin

g pr

ogram

me t

o ca

pacit

ate p

rodu

cers’

and

proc

esso

rs’ as

socia

tions

/ co

oper

ative

s in

best

preh

arves

t, ha

rvest

and

posth

arves

t prac

tices

. Inc

lude

bes

t prac

tices

in :

• Pr

eharv

est :

–Be

st pr

actic

es o

n pr

oduc

tion,

e.g.

reco

mm

enda

tions

on

fertil

izers,

pru

ning

trees

, main

tainin

g or

chard

soil

moi

sture

to

prev

ent f

rosti

ng, i

rriga

tion

( wate

r man

agem

ent ).

• Ha

rvesti

ng :

–Op

timal

time o

f harv

est.

–Cr

eate

aware

ness

of t

he lo

ss o

f qua

lity,

unifo

rmity

and

prod

uct v

alue (

e.g.

idea

l harv

estin

g tim

e to

max

imize

suga

r con

-ten

t ) wh

en in

adeq

uate

harve

sting

meth

ods a

re us

ed.

• Po

stharv

est /

pro

cess

ing :

–So

rting

and

grad

ing o

f pro

ducts

. –

Nuts :

Train

ing o

n ha

nd-s

helli

ng te

chniq

ues t

o av

oid

dam

aging

kern

els an

d irr

egul

ar qu

ality

of p

rodu

cts.

–Fr

uits :

Train

ing o

n dr

ying

prac

tices

to re

duce

tim

e of d

rying

( e.g

. rais

ins ) a

nd d

evelo

p un

iform

ity in

pro

cess

ed p

rodu

cts.

–Em

phas

is sh

ould

also

be p

laced

on

reduc

ing co

ntam

inatio

n in

dryin

g pr

actic

es ( s

anita

ry m

ethod

s ).

Durin

g tra

ining

, enc

ourag

e im

prov

ing th

e qua

lity o

f drie

d fru

its an

d nu

ts by

link

ing it

to m

arketi

ng, a

nd re

ward

com

plian

ce.

2•

Traini

ng in

itiati

ve b

en-

efits

2,00

0 pr

oduc

ers /

pr

oces

sors

MAI

LTe

chnic

al an

d Vo

catio

nal

Traini

ng In

stitu

tes ( M

inistr

y of

Edu

catio

n ),

ANSA

2.2.

3. To

mul

tiply

the o

rigina

l trai

ning

effor

ts, d

evelo

p co

mm

unica

tion

mate

rials.

Com

plem

ent p

ractic

al tra

ining

with

diss

emi-

natio

n of

info

rmati

on o

n be

st far

ming

prac

tices

thro

ugh

othe

r cha

nnels

, inc

ludi

ng w

orks

hops

to fa

rmer

s’ as

socia

tions

, rad

io

spot

s, po

sters

and

leafle

ts. D

evelo

p a v

ideo

expl

aining

bes

t prac

tices

and

the u

se o

f int

egrat

ed m

anag

emen

t sys

tems t

o en

sure

cont

inuou

s trai

ning.

Allo

w vid

eos t

o als

o be

avail

able

to C

usto

ms p

erso

nnel,

par

ticul

arly a

t bor

ders

which

are k

ey fo

r the

secto

r ( e.

g. P

akist

an ),

to

crea

te aw

arene

ss an

d ca

pacit

ate st

aff o

n co

rrect

hand

ling

of p

rodu

cts.

3•

One r

adio

spot

dev

el-op

ed an

d str

eam

ed d

aily

in ke

y pro

vince

s•

Vide

o de

velo

ped

and

strea

med

on

telev

ision

, an

d in

works

hops

and

traini

ngs

MAI

L ( A

gric

ultu

re

Rese

arch

Inst

itute

of

Afgh

anis

tan )

2.3.

Impr

ove

proc

ess-

ing

capa

city

in th

e se

ctor

thro

ugh

inve

st-

men

t pro

mot

ion.

2.3.

1. S

uppo

rt th

e main

tenan

ce /

expa

nsio

n of

indu

strial

park

s in

main

pro

ducin

g are

as.

• Un

derta

ke an

inde

pend

ent s

tudy

to as

sess

the l

evel

of se

rvice

supp

ort,

techn

ical c

apac

ities

and

impl

emen

tatio

n of

activ

ities

in

indus

trial

parks

supp

ortin

g se

ctor f

irms.

• Ba

sed

on id

entif

ied g

aps a

nd fl

aws,

desig

n an

d im

plem

ent c

orrec

tive m

easu

res an

d tai

lored

wor

ksho

ps to

indu

strial

park

s’ m

anag

emen

t staf

f ( e.

g. b

ookk

eepi

ng ).

• Co

nduc

t fea

sibili

ty stu

dies

in m

ajor l

ocati

ons f

or th

e esta

blish

men

t of a

gro-

focu

sed

indus

trial

parks

, as a

pub

lic–p

rivate

inv

estm

ent.

• De

velo

p a p

ilot p

rojec

t in

a sele

ct lo

catio

n fo

r an

agro

-focu

sed

indus

trial

park

supp

ortin

g fir

ms i

n th

e sec

tor.

2•

Indep

ende

nt st

udy c

ar-rie

d ou

t and

corre

ctive

m

easu

res in

plac

e•

Pilot

pro

ject d

esig

ned

and

impl

emen

ted.

Expa

nd p

ilot t

o ot

her l

o-ca

tions

as re

quire

d

MoC

I,Af

ghan

istan

Inde

pend

ent

Land

Aut

horit

y, M

oF,

ACCI

, Mini

stry o

f Ene

rgy

and

Wate

r, M

inistr

y of

Trans

port

and

Civil

Avia

tion

2.3.

2. D

evelo

p a s

chem

e to

supp

ort p

rivate

inve

stmen

t to

estab

lish

new

proc

essin

g ce

ntres

, and

reha

bilit

ate an

d up

grad

e exis

t-ing

one

s thr

ough

par

tial s

ubsid

ies, i

nclu

ding

the e

stabl

ishm

ent o

f Kis

hmis

h Kh

ana

for g

reen

raisin

pro

ducti

on in

area

s with

po

tentia

l.

2•

Sche

me d

evelo

ped

• At

leas

t 15

proc

ess-

ing u

nits e

stabl

ished

/ up

grad

ed

MoC

I,M

oF, A

CCI

2.3.

3. Id

entif

y and

supp

ort o

ptio

ns fo

r esta

blish

ing p

roce

ssing

unit

s with

hig

her t

echn

olog

y, su

ch as

lase

r sor

ting,

and

retail

pa

ckag

ing in

upc

oming

expo

rt pr

oces

sing

zone

s with

in air

port

territ

ory.

Supp

ort c

an al

so b

e pro

vided

to es

tablis

h th

ese p

roce

ssing

unit

s and

show

room

s in

key t

arget

mark

ets w

here

secu

rity i

s hig

her

and

acce

ssib

ility

is les

s res

tricte

d, su

ch as

UAE

or I

ndia.

Thes

e acti

vities

hav

e the

obj

ectiv

e of :

• Pe

netra

ting

and

deve

lopi

ng n

ew /

exist

ing m

arkets

and

acce

ssing

new

dist

ribut

ion

netw

orks

.•

Acce

ssing

new

tech

nolo

gies

and

know

-how

.•

Ident

ifying

and

asse

ssing

the p

ossib

ility

of es

tablis

hing

proc

essin

g un

its in

targ

et m

arkets

thro

ugh

a cos

t-ben

efit s

tudy

.•

Selec

ting

pilo

t Afg

han

firm

s bas

ed o

n ex

port

readi

ness

.•

Prov

iding

supp

ort t

o se

lect A

fgha

n fir

ms t

o es

tablis

h pr

oces

sing

units

abro

ad.

2•

Three

pro

cess

ing u

nits

estab

lishe

d M

oCI,

( Afg

hani

stan

In

vest

men

t Sup

port

Agen

cy )

MoF

, Hig

h Ec

onom

ic Co

uncil

[ PLAN OF ACTION ]

65

Stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ive

2 : E

nhan

ce fo

od s

afet

y an

d qu

ality

ass

uran

ce a

cros

s th

e va

lue

chai

n by

fost

erin

g th

e ad

optio

n of

enh

ance

d pr

oces

sing

met

hods

.

Oper

atio

nal

obje

ctiv

esAc

tiviti

esPr

iorit

y 1=

high

2=

med

3=

low

Impl

emen

tatio

n pe

riod

Targ

ets

Lead

and

sup

porti

ng

impl

emen

ters

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2.3.

Impr

ove

proc

ess-

ing

capa

city

in th

e se

ctor

thro

ugh

inve

st-

men

t pro

mot

ion.

2.3.

4. D

evelo

p a l

ist o

f inv

estm

ent o

ppor

tunit

ies fo

r the

secto

r. Inc

lude

the f

ollo

wing

:

• M

anuf

actu

ring :

setti

ng u

p m

oder

n pr

oces

sing

facili

ties,

e.g. f

or d

rying

of f

ruits

and

shell

ing /

roas

ting

nuts ;

or i

mpr

oving

/ res

torin

g ex

isting

pro

cess

ing fa

ciliti

es.

• An

cillar

y ind

ustri

es : p

acka

ging

, con

taine

rs an

d wr

appi

ngs f

or d

ried

fruits

and

nuts ;

tech

nolo

gica

l equ

ipm

ent ;

cons

erva

tion

and

freez

ing eq

uipm

ent (

cold

chain

infra

struc

ture

) ; ad

vanc

ed se

rvice

s, su

ch as

labo

rator

ies an

d ha

ndlin

g eq

uipm

ent,

e.g. f

or

weig

hing ;

amon

g ot

hers.

• Up

date

the l

ist as

the s

ecto

r evo

lves.

2•

List o

f inv

estm

ent o

p-po

rtunit

ies in

the s

ecto

r de

velo

ped

MoC

I, ( A

fgha

nist

an

Inve

stm

ent S

uppo

rt Ag

ency

)M

oF, H

igh

Econ

omic

Coun

cil, A

CCI

2.3.

5. C

reate

a pac

kage

to at

tract

inves

tors.

In ad

ditio

n to

the l

ist o

f inv

estm

ent o

ppor

tunit

ies, t

he p

acka

ge w

ill in

clude

:

• Inc

entiv

es an

d fin

ancia

l sup

port

( for p

re-inv

estm

ent a

nd in

vestm

ent p

hase

s ), s

uch

as p

oliti

cal r

isk g

uaran

tees a

nd la

nd fa

-cil

itatio

n ( tr

ansfe

r of o

wner

ship

righ

ts ).

Supp

ort t

he d

evelo

pmen

t of b

ank p

ropo

sals

for i

dent

ified

inve

stmen

t opp

ortu

nities

.

• De

velo

p rel

ated

com

mun

icatio

n m

ateria

ls su

ch as

onl

ine vi

deos

, con

cept

not

es an

d lea

flets

highl

ight

ing A

fgha

nistan

’s co

m-

parat

ive ad

vant

ages

for t

he p

rodu

ction

of d

ried

fruits

and

nuts,

estim

ated

valu

e of i

nves

tmen

ts, g

ener

al an

d se

ctor-f

ocus

ed

inves

tmen

t pac

kage

s and

opp

ortu

nities

.

2•

Pack

age f

or in

vesto

rs,

inclu

ding

ince

ntive

s, cr

e-ate

d an

d di

ssem

inated

• At

leas

t 10

bank

pro

pos-

als su

ppor

ted•

Com

mun

icatio

n m

ateri-

als d

evelo

ped

MoC

I, ( A

fgha

nist

an

Inve

stm

ent S

uppo

rt Ag

ency

)M

oF, H

igh

Econ

omic

Coun

cil

2.3.

6. O

rgan

ize in

vestm

ent m

issio

ns to

selec

t cou

ntrie

s to

com

mun

icate

and

prom

ote t

he in

vestm

ent p

acka

ge. F

acili

tate t

he

parti

cipati

on o

f bus

iness

asso

ciatio

ns in

inve

stmen

t miss

ions

and

exhib

ition

s to

prom

ote i

nves

tmen

t opp

ortu

nities

in th

e sec

tor.

• Ex

plain

opp

ortu

nities

for i

nves

tmen

t in

the s

ecto

r to

poten

tial i

nves

tors,

and

prov

ide s

ecto

r inf

orm

ation

and

matc

hmak

ing

with

enter

prise

s.•

Prov

ide f

inanc

ial su

ppor

t for

secto

r firm

s to

visit

forei

gn co

untri

es to

expl

ore n

ew b

usine

ss p

artn

ers /

mark

ets an

d lea

rn ab

out

inter

natio

nal p

ractic

es in

inve

stmen

t, wh

ile le

arning

abou

t mod

erniz

ation

of t

he se

ctor a

long

the v

alue c

hain.

3•

Two

inves

tmen

t miss

ions

a y

ear i

n tar

get m

arkets

su

ch as

Indi

a, UA

E

MoC

I, ( A

fgha

nist

an

Inve

stm

ent S

uppo

rt Ag

ency

)M

oF, M

inistr

y of F

oreig

n Af

fairs

( MoF

A ), A

CCI

2.4.

Fac

ilita

te a

c-ce

ss to

and

affo

rd-

abili

ty o

f equ

ipm

ent

and

criti

cal i

nput

s to

im

prov

e pr

oces

sing

te

chni

ques

.

2.4.

1. E

nhan

ce ac

cess

ibili

ty an

d lin

ks b

etwee

n inp

ut su

pplie

rs an

d far

mer

s. Fa

cilita

te inc

rease

d lin

ks b

etwee

n far

mer

s’ co

op-

erati

ves /

asso

ciatio

ns, p

roce

ssor

s and

supp

liers

of :

• M

achin

ery (

e.g.

dryi

ng, s

helli

ng, r

oasti

ng, s

alting

)•

Tool

s ( e.

g. m

ats fo

r dryi

ng )

• Ch

emica

ls ( e

.g. s

olut

ion

of p

otas

sium

carb

onate

).Sp

eed

up in

trodu

ction

of s

olar-

powe

red eq

uipm

ent t

o co

unter

act c

ontin

uous

pow

er sh

ortag

es.

• Ide

ntify

suita

ble s

uppl

iers a

nd o

rgan

ize fa

irs an

d ex

hibiti

ons t

o br

ing to

geth

er su

pplie

rs an

d int

ereste

d pa

rties

.•

Supp

ort c

ompa

nies t

o se

nd sa

mpl

es o

f pro

ducts

to te

st m

achin

ery b

efore

purc

hasin

g.•

Crea

te co

mm

unica

tion

and

coor

dina

tion

chan

nels

betw

een

input

supp

liers

and

farm

ers t

hrou

gh fa

rmer

field

scho

ols t

o fac

ili-

tate p

urch

ases

of d

rying

equip

men

t.

2•

A fai

r is h

eld an

nuall

y in

four

main

pro

duc-

tion

hubs

MAI

L, M

oCI

2.4.

2. D

eplo

y affo

rdab

le eq

uipm

ent l

easin

g op

tions

for f

armer

s org

aniza

tions

/ co

oper

ative

s and

pro

cess

ors t

hrou

gh co

mm

er-cia

l ban

ks.

• Pr

ovid

e tec

hnica

l ass

istan

ce to

fina

ncial

servi

ce p

rovid

ers t

o de

sign,

impl

emen

t, tra

ck an

d m

onito

r lea

sing

cont

racts

and

prod

ucts

to se

ctor s

takeh

olde

rs.

3•

Tech

nical

assis

tance

pr

ovid

ed to

com

merc

ial

bank

s’ of

ficer

s thr

ough

on

e cou

rse a

year

Afgh

anis

tan

Bank

s As

soci

atio

n, A

fgha

nistan

Ins

titut

e of B

ankin

g an

d Fin

ance

2.5.

Stre

ngth

en a

bil-

ity to

test

and

cer

tify

to in

tern

atio

nal f

ood

safe

ty a

nd q

ualit

y st

anda

rds

and

de-

velo

p a

trace

abili

ty

syst

em.

2.5.

1. R

eview

and

upda

te as

nec

essa

ry th

e esta

blish

ed A

fgha

n sta

ndard

s for

secto

r pro

ducts

, suc

h as

raisi

ns, a

lmon

ds an

d pi

s-tac

hios,

to b

e alig

ned

with

inter

natio

nal b

uyer

s’ qu

ality

depa

rtmen

ts ( e

.g. B

orge

s in

Spain

).

• Di

ssem

inate

estab

lishe

d sta

ndard

s thr

ough

the d

evelo

pmen

t of a

guid

e for

Afg

han

dried

fruit

and

nut p

rodu

ction

, and

oth

er

relev

ant m

edia

such

as n

ewsle

tters

and

telev

ision

/ rad

io sp

ots.

2•

Stan

dard

s rev

iewed

and

diss

emina

tedAN

SA

66


Stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ive

2 : E

nhan

ce fo

od s

afet

y an

d qu

ality

ass

uran

ce a

cros

s th

e va

lue

chai

n by

fost

erin

g th

e ad

optio

n of

enh

ance

d pr

oces

sing

met

hods

.

Oper

atio

nal

obje

ctiv

esAc

tiviti

esPr

iorit

y 1=

high

2=

med

3=

low

Impl

emen

tatio

n pe

riod

Targ

ets

Lead

and

sup

porti

ng

impl

emen

ters

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2.5.

Stre

ngth

en a

bil-

ity to

test

and

cer

tify

to in

tern

atio

nal f

ood

safe

ty a

nd q

ualit

y st

anda

rds

and

de-

velo

p a

trace

abili

ty

syst

em.

2.5.

2. R

oll o

ut a

traini

ng p

rogr

amm

e to

secto

r SM

Es an

d ex

porte

rs to

facil

itate

the i

mpl

emen

tatio

n of

volu

ntary

qua

lity s

tanda

rds

and

diss

emina

te ke

y inf

orm

ation

.2

• Tra

ining

pro

gram

me i

s ro

lled

out,

targe

ting

30

SMEs

a ye

ar

ANSA

, MoC

I

2.5.

3. S

treng

then

the c

apac

ity o

f ANS

A to

certi

fy SP

S an

d qu

ality

stand

ards.

• As

certa

in th

e com

peten

cies a

t ANS

A to

test

and

certi

fy se

ctor f

ood

safet

y and

qua

lity s

tanda

rds (

e.g.

E. C

oli,

salm

onell

a, hu

mid

ity ) t

hrou

gh la

b ins

pecti

ons t

o as

sess

infra

struc

ture

( i.e.

labor

atorie

s ) an

d tec

hnica

l res

ourc

es.

• De

velo

p an

d im

plem

ent c

apac

ity-b

uildi

ng p

rogr

amm

es to

brid

ge te

chnic

al ca

pacit

y gap

s by t

rainin

g lab

orato

ry tec

hnici

ans.

• De

velo

p a s

tate o

f the

art l

abor

atory,

sam

pling

and

testin

g fac

ilitie

s in

main

pro

ducti

on h

ubs.

• Ex

pand

the a

cces

s to

labs f

or m

ycot

oxin

testin

g an

d ce

rtific

ation

thro

ugh

upgr

ading

exist

ing la

bs o

r esta

blish

men

t of n

ew

labs i

n m

ain p

rodu

cing

areas

in p

rovin

ces o

utsid

e Kab

ul.

2•

A tra

ining

pro

gram

me

is de

signe

d an

d ro

lled

out,

capa

citati

ng 2

0 tec

hnici

ans

• St

ate o

f the

art l

abor

a-to

ry is

deve

lope

d an

d m

easu

res ar

e int

egrat

ed,

acco

rding

ly•

At le

ast t

hree

labs

are

capa

ble o

f myc

otox

in tes

ting

Min

istry

of P

ublic

Hea

lth,

MAI

L, M

oF, M

oCI

2.5.

4. D

evelo

p a t

racea

bilit

y sys

tem fo

r the

secto

r.

• Un

derta

ke a

feasib

ility

study

to d

evelo

p a t

racea

bilit

y sys

tem b

y sur

veyin

g th

roug

hout

the c

ount

ry, co

nstru

cting

a da

tabas

e sy

stem

and

review

ing m

arket

requir

emen

ts.•

Asse

ss re

quire

men

ts fo

r the

adop

tion

of b

arcod

e tec

hnol

ogy a

nd cr

eate

links

with

key t

echn

ical i

nstit

utio

ns an

d pr

ovid

ers t

o ob

tain

techn

ical s

uppo

rt fo

r crea

ting

and

verif

ying

the p

rint q

ualit

y of b

arcod

es.

• Lo

bby b

usine

sses

and

gove

rnm

ent i

nstit

utio

ns to

set u

p a t

racea

bilit

y sys

tem b

y dem

onstr

ating

curre

nt st

atus a

nd th

en th

e ex

pecte

d be

nefit

s of t

he sy

stem

, and

invit

ing in

terna

tiona

l ins

titut

ions

well

-kno

wn in

this

area.

3•

At le

ast 5

% o

f pro

duc-

tion

to h

ave a

trac

eabi

lity

syste

m

ANSA

, MoC

I, M

AIL

[ PLAN OF ACTION ]

67

Stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ive

3 : R

ecla

im A

fgha

nist

an’s

pro

min

ent g

loba

l rep

utat

ion

thro

ugh

impr

oved

pac

kagi

ng a

nd s

ound

mar

ket i

nser

tion

stra

tegi

es.

Oper

atio

nal o

bjec

tives

Activ

ities

Prio

rity

1=hi

gh

2=m

ed

3=lo

w

Impl

emen

tatio

n pe

riod

Targ

ets

Lead

and

sup

porti

ng

impl

emen

ters

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

3.1.

Impr

ove

pack

ag-

ing

prac

tices

am

ong

ente

rpris

es.

3.1.

1. C

ondu

ct a b

rief a

sses

smen

t of t

he p

acka

ging

supp

liers

in th

e thr

ee p

rojec

t loc

ation

s, inv

olvin

g th

e fol

lowi

ng ac

tiviti

es :

• M

ap p

acka

ging

supp

liers

in th

e thr

ee lo

catio

ns w

ith a

com

preh

ensiv

e ass

essm

ent o

f the

ir ca

pacit

ies to

suit

dried

fruit

and

nut S

MEs

thro

ugh

facto

ry vis

its an

d int

ervie

ws.

• As

sess

chall

enge

s fac

ed b

y sup

plier

s in

term

s of s

ourc

ing in

puts

for t

heir

supp

ly ch

ain, a

nd te

chnic

al an

d fin

ancia

l cha

l-len

ges.

Deve

lop

corre

ctive

mea

sures

and

polic

ies as

requ

ired.

• De

velo

p a s

ystem

of f

inanc

ial g

rants

/ loa

ns to

pac

kagi

ng co

mpa

nies t

o m

eet t

heir

oper

ation

al ex

pens

es an

d ca

pital

ex-

pend

itures

relat

ed to

equip

men

t and

facil

ities

.•

Revie

w ch

allen

ges t

o im

ports

of i

mpo

rtant

raw

mate

rials

and

pack

aging

varie

ties,

and

relate

d ad

voca

cy ef

forts

at th

e of-

ficial

leve

l.

2•

Asse

ssm

ent c

om-

plete

d in

three

pro

ject

loca

tions

, inc

lud-

ing K

anda

har a

nd

Maz

ar-e-

Shari

f

MoC

I, AC

CI

3.1.

2. D

evelo

p an

d di

ssem

inate

a yell

ow b

ook o

f sup

plier

s of p

acka

ging

mate

rials

for t

he se

ctor.

• Cr

eate

an in

vent

ory o

f dom

estic

and

inter

natio

nal s

uppl

iers o

f pac

kagi

ng in

puts

for t

he se

ctor,

inclu

ding

cont

act i

nfor

ma-

tion

and

prod

uct s

pecif

icatio

ns.

• Di

ssem

inate

inven

tory

via w

ebsit

e and

prin

ted b

roch

ures

to b

e ava

ilabl

e at t

he d

istric

t lev

el.•

Upda

te inv

ento

ry of

supp

liers

annu

ally.

3•

Yello

w bo

ok d

evelo

ped

and

diss

emina

tedAN

SAM

AIL,

MoC

I, AC

CI, F

resh

Fruit

s and

Dry

Fruit

s Un

ions

3.1.

3. C

ondu

ct a s

hort

cour

se to

train

enter

prise

s ( se

ctor f

irms a

nd re

levan

t pac

kagi

ng co

mpa

nies )

on

inter

natio

nal p

acka

g-ing

requ

irem

ents,

prac

tices

and

appl

icatio

ns :

• Ty

pes o

f pac

kagi

ng an

d ad

vice o

n ho

w to

impr

ove p

acka

ging

for r

educ

ed p

rodu

ct lo

sses

acro

ss th

e valu

e cha

in•

Desig

n an

d se

lectio

n of

pac

kagi

ng•

Pack

aging

mac

hiner

y opt

ions

,•

Labe

lling

and

legisl

ation

by t

arget

mark

ets ( e

.g. U

AE, E

U ), s

uch

as th

e ISP

M 1

5 reg

ulati

on fo

r pac

kagi

ng an

d th

e Unit

ed

State

s Foo

d, D

rug

and

Cosm

etic A

ct, se

ction

409

• Re

using

and

recyc

ling

pack

aging

.Pr

ovid

e mark

eting

advic

e on

how

to im

prov

e pac

kagi

ng fo

r bran

d di

fferen

tiatio

n an

d fo

r pro

fitab

le an

d su

cces

sful m

arket

acce

ss.

2•

Shor

t cou

rse d

esig

ned

and

rolle

d ou

t, be

nefit

ing

50 co

mpa

nies

ANSA

, MoC

I, AC

CI

3.1.

4. P

acka

ging

servi

ce ce

ntres

.Co

nduc

t a fe

asib

ility

analy

sis fo

r the

estab

lishm

ent o

f pac

kagi

ng se

rvice

cent

res in

Her

at an

d Ka

bul i

n or

der t

o str

engt

hen

the

capa

city o

f SM

Es to

incr

ease

valu

e add

ition

of t

argete

d pr

oduc

ts an

d to

expa

nd tr

ade w

ithin

the r

egio

n an

d int

erna

tiona

lly.

Poten

tial c

apac

ities

of t

he p

acka

ging

cent

res to

inclu

de :

• Qu

ality

label

desig

ning

and

print

ing•

Pack

aging

mate

rials

avail

able

for s

ale•

Pack

aging

mac

hiner

y / te

chno

logy

to b

e sol

d to

SM

Es•

Com

mon

pac

kagi

ng fa

ciliti

es•

Traini

ng S

MEs

on

quali

ty pa

ckag

ing•

Pack

aging

servi

ce ce

ntre

prom

otio

n•

Sour

cing

infor

mati

on o

n pa

ckag

ing te

chno

logy

, pac

kagi

ng m

ateria

ls, d

ataba

se d

evelo

pmen

t•

Advis

ory a

nd co

nsul

tatio

n se

rvice

s•

A m

obile

pac

kagi

ng fa

cility

.Ba

sed

on th

e fea

sibili

ty an

alysis

, esta

blish

two

pilo

t pac

kagi

ng ce

ntres

.

2•

Two

pack

aging

servi

ce

cent

res es

tablis

hed

in He

rat an

d Ka

bul

MoC

I, AC

CI

3.2.

Incr

ease

mar

ket a

c-ce

ss b

y im

prov

ing

in-

mar

ket s

uppo

rt.

3.2.

1. B

uild

the c

apac

ities

of s

ecto

r exp

orter

s on

busin

ess a

nd ex

port

man

agem

ent s

kills

to en

able

them

to ta

ke b

etter

ad-

vant

age o

f bus

iness

opp

ortu

nities

. Con

duct

shor

t trai

nings

on :

• Un

derst

andi

ng b

usine

ss in

Afg

hanis

tan : l

icenc

es, t

axati

on re

gim

es•

Unde

rstan

ding

expo

rting

: exp

ort p

roce

dures

and

docu

men

tatio

n, in

coter

ms

• Ne

gotia

tion

skill

s.

1•

Three

shor

t cou

rses

rolle

d ou

t ann

ually

MoC

I

68


Stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ive

3 : R

ecla

im A

fgha

nist

an’s

pro

min

ent g

loba

l rep

utat

ion

thro

ugh

impr

oved

pac

kagi

ng a

nd s

ound

mar

ket i

nser

tion

stra

tegi

es.

Oper

atio

nal o

bjec

tives

Activ

ities

Prio

rity

1=hi

gh

2=m

ed

3=lo

w

Impl

emen

tatio

n pe

riod

Targ

ets

Lead

and

sup

porti

ng

impl

emen

ters

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

3.2.

Incr

ease

mar

ket a

c-ce

ss b

y im

prov

ing

in-

mar

ket s

uppo

rt.

3.2.

2. F

acili

tate S

ME

decis

ion-

mak

ing p

roce

ss th

roug

h ac

cess

to tr

ade i

ntell

igen

ce

• Or

ganiz

e trai

ning

sess

ions

for e

xpor

ters o

n m

arketi

ng an

d bu

sines

s skil

ls. A

dditi

onall

y, co

nduc

t trai

ning

sess

ions

and

works

hops

on

expo

rt pr

oced

ures

and

relate

d do

cum

entat

ion.

• De

velo

p tra

ining

/ co

urse

s for

micr

o, sm

all an

d m

edium

-size

d en

terpr

ises (

MSM

Es ) o

n ho

w to

analy

se tr

ade i

ntell

igen

ce

and

adju

st th

eir b

usine

ss st

rateg

ies ac

cord

ingly.

• De

velo

p m

arket

prof

iles f

or ta

rget

mark

ets ( e

.g. U

nited

Stat

es, E

U, In

dia a

nd U

AE ).

Infor

mati

on to

inclu

de :

–M

anda

tory

requir

emen

ts ( e

.g. q

ualit

y, sh

ippi

ng, c

ontra

cts )

–Int

erna

tiona

l trad

e agr

eem

ents

with

selec

ted ta

rget

mark

ets, i

f app

licab

le –

Mark

et pr

ospe

cts an

d em

erging

tren

ds ( i

nclu

ding

nich

e mark

ets, s

uch

as o

rgan

ic ce

rtific

ation

, vari

eties

with

prem

ium

price

s ) –

Optim

al tim

e of e

ntry

( sea

sona

l dem

and )

–Ri

sks o

f ent

ering

the m

arket

–Pa

ckag

ing le

gisla

tion

( ISPM

15 )

and

trend

s –

Distr

ibut

ion

chan

nels

and

direc

tory

of m

ain b

uyer

s in

targe

t mark

ets –

Trade

fairs

avail

able

in-co

untry

–Co

ntac

t deta

ils o

f trad

e atta

chés

–Fo

od sa

fety c

ertif

icatio

n co

mpa

nies a

ppro

ved

by co

untry

buy

ers.

• Im

plem

ent m

echa

nism

s to

activ

ely d

issem

inate

trade

info

rmati

on vi

a vari

ous c

hann

els o

f com

mun

icatio

n ( p

rint,

telev

i-sio

n, w

ebsit

es ).

2•

Cour

ses f

or M

SMEs

ro

lled

out a

nnua

lly•

Mark

et pr

ofile

s dev

el-op

ed fo

r at l

east

five

targe

t mark

ets, i

nclu

ding

Ind

ia, U

AE

MoC

I,M

oFA,

ACC

I and

Joint

Ch

ambe

r, an

d Af

ghan

istan

Tra

ding

Hou

se A

broa

d

3.2.

3. A

sses

s sec

onda

ry m

arkets

for d

ried

fruits

and

nuts

proc

esse

d int

o ot

her p

rodu

cts, s

uch

as al

mon

d flo

ur, o

il an

d m

ilk.

• De

velo

p do

mes

tic an

d int

erna

tiona

l mark

et as

sess

men

ts an

d di

ssem

inate

them

thro

ugh

sem

inars

and

news

letter

s to

sec-

tor a

ssoc

iatio

ns an

d fir

ms.

2•

At le

ast f

ive m

arket

pro-

files

dev

elope

d M

oCI

3.2.

4. B

uild

capa

cities

of t

rade a

ttach

és in

prio

rity m

arkets

on

the p

oten

tial o

f the

drie

d fru

its an

d nu

ts se

ctor.

• Th

roug

h on

line c

ourse

s, co

nduc

t trai

nings

to tr

ade a

ttach

és in

prio

rity m

arkets

rega

rding

the p

oten

tial a

nd im

porta

nce o

f th

e drie

d fru

its an

d nu

ts se

ctor f

or A

fgha

nistan

. Cap

acity

-buil

ding

will

cove

r ass

istan

ce to

expo

rters

in ne

twor

king

and

busin

ess d

evelo

pmen

t.•

Ensu

re tra

de at

taché

s are

fully

staff

ed in

key m

arkets

.

2•

Two

onlin

e cou

rses

per y

ear

MoC

I, M

oFA

3.2.

5. D

evelo

p a p

ilot i

nitiat

ive o

n e-

com

merc

e for

the s

ecto

r.

• Ex

plor

e e-c

omm

erce p

oten

tial f

or d

ried

fruits

and

nuts

thro

ugh

a sec

tor s

tudy

, ana

lysing

e-co

mm

erce r

eadi

ness

, mar-

kets

and

avail

able

onlin

e mark

et to

ols,

paym

ent p

rovid

ers,

logi

stics

firm

s and

info

rmati

on te

chno

logy

infra

struc

ture

com

panie

s.•

Selec

t key

targ

et m

arkets

( e.g

. Chin

a ) an

d ex

amine

cons

umer

pro

tectio

n an

d e-

trans

actio

n law

s.•

Ident

ify an

d se

lect f

irms /

coop

erati

ves w

hich

will

bene

fit fr

om th

e pilo

t init

iative

. Com

petit

ive se

lectio

n to

be b

ased

on

seve

ral fa

ctors,

inclu

ding

expo

rt rea

dine

ss.

• Pr

ovid

e cap

acity

-buil

ding

and

techn

ical a

ssist

ance

to se

lected

firm

s / co

oper

ative

s, inc

ludi

ng :

–Se

tting

up

a web

site

–On

line p

aym

ent m

odali

ty –

Orde

r ful

film

ent

–Ot

her f

uncti

ons a

s req

uired

.

3•

Pilot

initi

ative

des

igne

d an

d su

ppor

ting

at lea

st 10

SM

Es

MoC

I

3.3.

Incr

ease

mar

ket a

c-ce

ss b

y im

prov

ing

in-

mar

ket s

uppo

rt.

3.3.

1. O

rgan

ize B

2B m

eetin

gs w

ith sp

ecial

ized

impo

rters

and

large

pro

ducin

g / p

roce

ssing

com

panie

s, as

they

ofte

n co

m-

plem

ent t

heir

offer

with

impo

rted

dried

fruit

s and

nut

s. Inc

lude

Inter

snac

k, Se

eberg

er, B

ösch

Bod

en S

pies

( Ger

man

y ) : V

. Be

sana

( Ital

y ) ; B

orge

s ( Sp

ain ),

for e

xam

ple.

1•

Two

B2B

mee

tings

a ye

ar be

nefit

ing 1

0 SM

EsM

oCI,

ACCI

[ PLAN OF ACTION ]

69

Stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ive

3 : R

ecla

im A

fgha

nist

an’s

pro

min

ent g

loba

l rep

utat

ion

thro

ugh

impr

oved

pac

kagi

ng a

nd s

ound

mar

ket i

nser

tion

stra

tegi

es.

Oper

atio

nal o

bjec

tives

Activ

ities

Prio

rity

1=hi

gh

2=m

ed

3=lo

w

Impl

emen

tatio

n pe

riod

Targ

ets

Lead

and

sup

porti

ng

impl

emen

ters

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

3.3.

Incr

ease

mar

ket a

c-ce

ss b

y im

prov

ing

in-

mar

ket s

uppo

rt.

3.3.

2. S

uppo

rt ke

y acto

rs in

the s

ecto

r to

parti

cipate

in in

terna

tiona

l trad

e fair

s and

exhib

ition

s.

• Ide

ntify

key i

nter

natio

nal f

airs a

nd ex

hibiti

ons f

or d

ried

fruits

and

nuts,

such

as th

e Int

erna

tiona

l Nut

and

Dried

Fru

it Co

uncil

Wor

ld N

ut an

d Dr

ied F

ruit

Cong

ress,

Fruit

Logi

stica

and

Anug

a ( Ge

rman

y ), a

nd A

sian

Fruit

Logi

stica

.•

Diss

emina

te inf

orm

ation

abou

t ide

ntifi

ed in

terna

tiona

l fair

s and

exhib

ition

s am

ong

key s

takeh

olde

rs th

roug

h we

bsite

s.•

Deve

lop

a sch

eme t

o su

ppor

t MSM

Es an

d ex

porte

rs’ as

socia

tions

to p

artic

ipate

in su

ch fa

irs an

d ex

hibiti

ons :

–De

velo

p gu

ideli

nes f

or se

lectio

n cr

iteria

of M

SMEs

to b

e sup

porte

d –

Defin

e sup

port

mod

ality,

e.g.

gran

t, su

bsid

y –

Prov

ide t

rainin

g se

ssio

ns o

n m

arketi

ng to

par

ticip

ants

–Fo

llow

up o

n lea

rning

s with

the b

usine

sses

after

the v

isits.

1•

Sche

me d

esig

ned

and

impl

emen

ted, b

enefi

ting

at lea

st 10

SM

Es a

year

MoC

I, M

AIL,

ACCI

3.3.

3. Tr

ain en

terpr

ises o

n ho

w to

prep

are fo

r mark

et de

velo

pmen

t and

par

ticip

ation

in tr

ade f

airs :

• Pr

epari

ng p

rom

otio

nal m

ateria

ls in

the l

angu

age a

nd cu

lture

of th

e hos

t cou

ntry

• Pr

esen

tatio

n an

d vis

ibili

ty ( in

cludi

ng d

igita

l mark

eting

)•

Man

aging

supp

ly an

d de

man

d•

Ident

ifying

and

targe

ting

poten

tial b

uyer

s.Ca

pacit

ate ex

porte

rs on

Afg

hanis

tan’s

signe

d tra

de ag

reem

ents

( regu

latio

ns, r

equir

emen

ts an

d be

nefit

s ), p

artic

ularl

y reg

ard-

ing th

e Unit

ed S

tates

’ Gen

erali

zed

Syste

m o

f Pref

erenc

es, i

n or

der t

o m

axim

ize o

ppor

tunit

ies p

rovid

ed b

y the

se ag

reem

ents.

Ac

com

pany

this

activ

ity b

y diss

emina

ting

relate

d inf

orm

ation

thro

ugh

pres

s cov

erag

e in

print

, rad

io an

d tel

evisi

on.

2•

Traini

ng co

nduc

ted to

at

least

30 S

MEs

a ye

arM

oCI,

ACCI

, Fres

h Fr

uit

and

Vege

table

Expo

rters

Unio

n, A

fgha

nistan

Dr

y Fru

it Ex

porte

rs As

socia

tion

3.3.

4. F

acili

tate v

isa ap

prov

als fo

r bus

iness

pur

pose

s in

key m

arkets

.

• Ex

amine

visa

recip

rocit

y arra

ngem

ents

for b

usine

ss st

ays w

ith ke

y mark

ets’ g

over

nmen

ts.Or

ganiz

e reg

ular

mee

tings

with

hig

h rep

resen

tative

s in

forei

gn af

fairs

mini

stries

in ke

y Wes

tern

mark

ets to

disc

uss i

mpr

oving

vis

a app

rova

ls fo

r Afg

han

busin

ess v

isito

rs.Or

ganiz

e reg

ular

mee

tings

with

hig

h rep

resen

tative

s of f

oreig

n aff

airs m

inistr

ies o

f key

regi

onal

mark

ets ( s

uch

as In

dia,

Islam

ic Re

publ

ic of

Iran

) to

disc

uss r

educ

ing vi

sa p

roce

ssing

costs

for A

fgha

n bu

sines

s visi

tors.

2•

Bilat

eral

mee

tings

are

held

with

at le

ast t

wo

regio

nal a

nd th

ree in

ter-

natio

nal f

oreig

n aff

airs

mini

stries

MoF

AM

oCI,

ACCI

3.3.

5. A

ssist

secto

r firm

s to

estab

lish

wareh

ousin

g an

d wh

oles

aling

ope

ratio

ns in

key t

arget

mark

ets ( e

.g. I

ndia

and

UAE )

, fo

llowi

ng sp

ecifi

catio

ns fo

r sto

ring

secto

r sub

prod

ucts,

e.g.

raisi

ns, a

lmon

ds, e

tc.2

• Fiv

e fea

sibili

ty stu

dies

are

supp

orted

MoC

I ( Ex

port

Prom

otio

n Ag

ency

of

Afgh

anis

tan )

3.

4. S

uppo

rt th

e de

velo

p-m

ent o

f org

anic

pro

duct

s fo

r exp

ort.

3.4.

1. S

uppo

rt an

d fac

ilitat

e tail

ored

mark

et inf

orm

ation

for o

rgan

ic pr

oduc

ers b

y :

• De

velo

ping

guid

eline

s for

org

anic

agric

ultu

re ba

sed

on ce

rtific

ation

and

quali

ty req

uirem

ents

to b

e met

in im

porti

ng

coun

tries

.•

Ident

ifying

pos

sible

partn

ers,

inclu

ding

expo

rters,

forei

gn b

uyer

s, di

strib

utor

s and

cons

umer

s, in

orde

r to

estab

lish

appr

o-pr

iate m

arketi

ng st

rateg

ies.

• As

sess

ing ta

riff p

rotec

tion

in fo

reign

mark

ets ( i

nclu

ding

pref

erent

ial ra

tes ) a

nd ef

ficien

t way

s to

enter

thos

e mark

ets.

• Ide

ntify

ing av

ailab

ility

of p

rice p

remium

s and

like

ly fu

ture

deve

lopm

ent o

f suc

h pr

emium

s.•

Offer

ing in

form

ation

abou

t how

to d

iversi

fy th

eir o

rgan

ic pr

oduc

ts, an

d pr

ovid

ing th

em w

ith va

lid in

form

ation

abou

t vi-

able

dem

and

in int

erna

tiona

l mark

ets. D

evelo

p an

d di

ssem

inate

mark

et pr

ofile

s bas

ed o

n th

e abo

ve-m

entio

ned

analy

sis.

Prov

ide r

eleva

nt te

chnic

al as

sistan

ce to

secto

r SM

Es.

2•

Guid

eline

s dev

elope

d•

Supp

ort f

ive S

MEs

, in-

cludi

ng as

socia

tions

and

coop

erati

ves,

to in

crea

se

their

share

of o

rgan

ic pr

oduc

ts

ANSA

, MoC

I, AC

CI

3.4.

2. E

xplo

re lo

cal p

artn

ersh

ips w

ith in

terna

tiona

l cer

tifica

tion

bodi

es fo

r org

anic

prod

uctio

n ap

prov

ed b

y main

targ

et m

ar-ke

ts’ re

gulat

ory b

odies

, suc

h as

the E

urop

ean

Com

miss

ion.

• De

velo

p a s

chem

e for

org

anic

certi

ficati

on, p

riorit

izing

spec

ific d

ried

fruits

and

nuts

prod

ucts

( e.g

. alm

onds

, drie

d fig

s, dr

ied ap

ricot

s ).

3•

Two

mem

oran

dum

s of

unde

rstan

ding

are s

igne

d wi

th in

terna

tiona

l cer

tifi-

catio

n bo

dies

ANSA

, MoC

I, AC

CI

70


Stra

tegi

c ob

ject

ive

3 : R

ecla

im A

fgha

nist

an’s

pro

min

ent g

loba

l rep

utat

ion

thro

ugh

impr

oved

pac

kagi

ng a

nd s

ound

mar

ket i

nser

tion

stra

tegi

es.

Oper

atio

nal o

bjec

tives

Activ

ities

Prio

rity

1=hi

gh

2=m

ed

3=lo

w

Impl

emen

tatio

n pe

riod

Targ

ets

Lead

and

sup

porti

ng

impl

emen

ters

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

3.5.

Impr

ove

the

posi

tion-

ing

of th

e na

tiona

l Afg

han

bran

d fo

r drie

d fru

its a

nd

nuts

thro

ugh

targ

eted

m

arke

ting

and

bran

ding

.

3.5.

1. S

uppo

rt th

e diss

emina

tion

and

impr

ovem

ent o

f the

Afg

han

fruit

tree c

atalo

gue d

evelo

ped

by A

NNGO

amon

g po

tentia

l bu

yers.

Cata

logu

e to

be re

vised

to in

clude

:

• Le

ading

Afg

han

dried

fruit

s and

nut

s pro

ducts

, inc

ludi

ng p

remium

varie

ties.

Base

d on

mark

et res

earc

h, h

ighl

ight

the p

ro-

ducti

on o

f spe

cific

varie

ties a

ccor

ding

to ta

rget

mark

ets.

• Re

gion

s of p

rodu

ction

.•

Certi

ficati

ons a

vaila

ble.

• Af

ghan

expo

rters’

dire

ctory.

Publ

ish in

divid

ual b

ookle

ts an

d br

ochu

res fo

r drie

d fru

its an

d nu

ts va

rietie

s in

Afgh

anist

an.

2•

Catal

ogue

revis

ed an

d di

ssem

inated

annu

ally

MAI

L, A

REU,

Plan

t Bi

otec

hnol

ogy L

abor

atory,

M

oRRD

( Afg

hanis

tan

Instit

ute f

or R

ural

Deve

lopm

ent ),

Mini

stry o

f Pu

blic

Healt

h, A

CCI

3.5.

2. C

reate

aware

ness

to in

crea

se co

nsum

ptio

n of

Afg

han

dried

fruit

s and

nut

s in

key t

arget

mark

ets.

• Se

lect r

egio

nal a

nd in

terna

tiona

l key

and

emerg

ing m

arkets

( e.g

. Ital

y ) to

carry

out

a ca

mpa

ign

to p

rom

ote k

nowl

edge

and

cons

umpt

ion

of A

fgha

n dr

ied fr

uits a

nd n

uts a

mon

g en

d co

nsum

ers.

3•

Tailo

red ca

mpa

ign

is de

signe

d an

d ro

lled

out

in at

least

three

targ

et m

arkets

MoC

I, AC

CI, M

AIL

3.5.

3. E

stabl

ish a

com

mitt

ee co

mpo

sed

of p

ublic

and

priva

te se

ctor r

epres

entat

ives a

nd fo

cuse

d on

mark

eting

and

bran

ding

, wi

thin

the n

ewly

form

ed h

igh-

level

secto

r plat

form

.

• Co

mm

ittee

to d

evelo

p a f

undi

ng m

echa

nism

to su

ppor

t bran

ding

activ

ities

in co

llabo

ratio

n wi

th al

l sec

tor s

takeh

olde

rs.

2•

Com

mitt

ee o

n m

arketi

ng

and

bran

ding

estab

lishe

d•

Fund

ing m

echa

nism

de

velo

ped

MoC

I. AC

CI, M

AIL

3.5.

4. B

ased

on

com

mon

obj

ectiv

es d

evelo

ped

in ter

ms o

f Afg

han

quali

ty sta

ndard

s, de

term

ine th

e add

ed va

lue o

f a b

rand-

ing p

rogr

amm

e.

• Co

mm

ittee

on

mark

eting

and

bran

ding

to ex

plor

e the

opt

ion

of d

evelo

ping

a sta

ndard

logo

or a

mark

for t

he se

ctor,

which

ca

n be

easil

y rec

ogniz

ed b

oth

insid

e and

out

side t

he co

untry

, and

estab

lish

a lice

nsing

fee f

or th

e use

of t

he o

fficia

l log

o.

2•

Bran

ding

secto

r plan

is

desig

ned

and

rolle

d ou

tM

oCI.

ACCI

, MAI

L

[ PLAN OF ACTION ]

71

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Documents

DRIED FRUITS AND NUTS SECTOR - International Trade Centre...Fresh fruits and vegetables Dried fruits and nuts Carpets Marble and granite Precious stones and jewellery vi CONTENTS Acknowledgementsiii