Afghanistan Moving Toward Self-Sufficiency in Bottle Production

Afghanistan is progressing toward self-sufficiency in bottle production, with domestic factories now meeting most of the country's internal demand, industry and government officials said.

Abdul Matin Qalandari of the Chamber of Industries and Mines stated that with proper support from the relevant ministries, the country will reach 100 percent domestic fulfillment of its bottle needs by the end of the current year. He added that Afghanistan exported bottles for the first time in its history last year.

This year, the country plans to export hundreds of containers of bottles to Gulf countries and parts of Europe, Qalandari said. The number of bottle production factories is expected to reach 20 by the end of the current year, while current annual production stands at 38,000 tons with capacity for further growth.

Bottles were previously imported from Pakistan, Iran, Thailand and China, but such imports have significantly decreased as local production has increased.

Abdul Salam Jawad Akhundzada of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Abdul Latif Nazari of the Ministry of Economy said the development of domestic industries and providing a suitable investment environment are priorities of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The officials expressed confidence that the sector would see significant expansion in both production and exports by the end of the year.