Rice factory opens in Kunduz

Kabul: A rice-processing factory has opened in Kunduz, the province's first such facility.
The factory will process five tones of rice per hour and was built with a $1.5 million investment from an Afghan businessman.

The factory employs 80 people. Afghanistan grew 40,000 tones of rice last year but imports 2,000 tones of rice daily, mostly from Pakistan.

The Ministry of Agriculture hopes to increase rice production in northern Afghanistan, and Kunduz’s new plant will play a part in this plan.

Businessman Haji Raz Muhammad said: 'If Afghan rice could be found in the bazaar, people would prefer to buy it, not the Pakistani rice, because it tastes much better.'

Rice is cultivated in 25 provinces of Afghanistan’s provinces, mostly in Nangarhar, Baghlan, Kunduz, Herat, Takhar and Laghman.