Samangan almond yield witnesses 38pc hike this year

AIBAK (Pajhwok): The almond yield in northern Samangan province is estimated to have risen to 4,150 tonnes this year, showing an increase of 38 per cent, an official said on Wednesday.

Almond trees exist on more than 4,880 hectares of land in Aibak, the provincial capital, Hazrat Sultan and Khuram Sarbagh districts.

Agriculture Director Najibullah Joya, in an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, said almond yield in the province was recorded at 3,000 tonnes last year.

Tialabai, a farmer from the Sarqad village of Aibak, said he collected 110 tonnes of almond from 2.5 acres of land this year and earned 170,000 afghanis.

He expressed happiness over the production level and the income accruing from it. The revenue could meet his family needs, the grower said.

Haji Naqibullah, a local trader, said per seven kilograms of quality almond produced in the province accounted for 1,000 afghanis to 3,500 afs.

According to him, the varieties of almond produced in Samangan include Sitarbai, Khairuddini, Shokorbai, Qambari, Marwaji, Sandoqi, Kaghazi and Sangak.

He claimed 60 per cent of Samangan’s almonds are exported to India, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

pk/mud