In the mountainous area about 1,000 meters above sea level in northeastern Afghanistan, there are large lush pine forests. Adequate sunlight and abundant snow irrigation have produced Afghan pine nuts that are full of grains and thin and easy to peel. Exporting pine nuts to China has helped many Afghan people achieve employment and improve their lives.

The pine nut harvesting season is in September and October every year, and it is also the busiest time for pine nut processing plants and farmers. Picking pine cones, knocking pine cones, shaking off the pine nuts, and then sorting them is the daily work of the locals.

Due to the political changes in Afghanistan in 2021, the export of pine nuts to China was temporarily suspended. In October 2021, the China-Arab "Pine Nut Air Corridor" opened up again. On November 1st of the same year, the first chartered plane with 45 tons of pine nuts arrived in Shanghai smoothly. After entering the China International Import Expo, 120,000 bottles of pine nuts were sold out as soon as they appeared.

Sam Sauer, an employee of Erzmalai Gajanvarsson’s subsidiary, said: “I like this job. With the recent continuous export of pine nuts to China, the company’s efficiency has improved and our income has increased. It is also conducive to the economic development of Afghanistan."

Zadran said that China is an ideal sales market for Afghan pine nuts. His company exported 650 tons of pine nuts to China in 2020 and 360 tons of pine nuts to China in November and December 2021. In 2022, he intends to export 950 tons of pine nuts to China and hopes that Chinese business partners can invest in Afghanistan and create more jobs for the Afghan people.

Khalil Rashid, the company's business manager, said that the export of pine nuts to China has created a lot of jobs for the Afghan people. He said: "The Afghan pine nut industry chain indirectly drives a lot of employment. For our company, in addition to about 150 full-time employees, we will also give some of the pine nuts to some farmers, who peel and sort the pine nuts at home. Currently, they are sorted and screened. A total of 1,420 families work for the company. In fact, the company provides jobs for thousands of people."

Atayi said that after China has become the main destination of Afghanistan's pine nut exports, the pine nut sales market is bullish, and the income of the entire pine nut industry in Afghanistan is also higher than before. He is optimistic about the prospects of China-Arab trade in the future and said that the Chinese market has huge potential. "In addition to pine nuts, we also intend to export other specialties to China, including dried fruits, saffron, carpets and gems."

Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu said: “Afghan pine nuts are very popular in China. On the one hand, the Afghan pine nuts are very delicious. On the other hand, it also reflects the sincere and friendly feelings of the Chinese people towards the Afghan people. I hope that the purchase of Afghan pine nuts will help the Afghan people increase. Income and improve life. The little pine nuts have become a bond between the people of China and Afghanistan. In order to help Afghanistan solve the economic and people’s livelihood difficulties, China will promote the export of other agricultural products of Afghanistan to China in the next step."

Mohamed Nadiam, sales manager of Afghan Qam Airlines, said that the pine nut charter flight will continue to fly to China in 2022, and the first chartered flight in the new year will take off on January 10, 2022.Editor/Ma Xue