AYBAK: Pistachio yield, in northern Samangan province, has reached to 210 tons this year; three folds increase comparing last year, an official said Sunday.
“This year, farmers collected up to 210 tons of pistachio nuts, from some 42,000 hectares of pistachio fields showing three folds increase comparing last year of only 70 tons,” Abdul Ghafoor Karimi, a senior official to the provincial department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock said. According to Karimi, this year’s pistachio nuts are ripe enough to be sold in 1,300 afghanis each kilo, while the last year’s mostly unripe nuts have been sold in less than 1,000 afghanis per kilo (The exchange rate of one U.S. dollar is 88.37 afghani).
“Farmers’ income from selling pistachio nuts was only 70 million afghanis, last year, while the income is estimated to exceed 276 million, this year,” said the official.
Samangan, in the north, is the second largest producer of pistachio after Badghis province in the country’s west.
The Kabul Times
Pistachio yields 3 folds in Samangan
