Govt Exploring Ways To Revive Textile Industry

Government has called on industry owners to present plans and recommendations for ways to revive the textile industry in the country, a finance ministry spokesman Ajmal Hamid Abdul Rahimzai said on Tuesday.

Based on government statistics, Afghanistan harvests more than 59,000 tons of cotton a year but there are no factories in the country.

“Industrialists have been asked for their recommendations on Kandahar and other textile companies so that the issue is discussed by the high economic council and it should be both in the interests of government and the private sector,” said Rahimzai.

But the Industrialists Union has said government does not have the capacity to ensure textile factories are well run.

“The government will not be able to run textile factories. If government gives textile companies to the private sector, I am confident that with the help of modern technology and latest management skills we can revive Afghanistan’s textile companies which will create jobs for thousands of people,” said Sakhi Ahmad Paiman, head of the Industrialist Union.

In the past, there were at least seven textile companies in Afghanistan – in Kabul, Parwan, Balkh, Kandahar and Baghlan - but over the years these were destroyed in the various wars.

The Industrialists Union has said more than 30,000 people were at one time employed in these factories.