Press Release

Mazar-i-Sharif International Agricultural Fair to draw investments, exports

Businesspeople from around the country and representatives from around the world attend exposition in Balkh province.

Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan | Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Businesspeople from around the country and representatives of international enterprises from Pakistan, India, and other Central Asian countries will participate in an international trade and agricultural exposition in Balkh province October 30-31.

The Mazar-i-Sharif International Agricultural Fair 2008 (AgFair) is part of a series of trade fairs organized in Afghanistan’s major economic centers to reinvigorate agricultural production, spur agricultural trade, and introduce Afghanistan products into the international market.

The AgFairs, which have been held for the past two years, have been instrumental in creating a profitable niche for Afghan products in international markets. They have helped to catalyze agricultural production in the countryside by increasing agricultural exports and local sales.

At the Mazar-I-Sharif AgFair, agricultural producers and businessmen from the throughout the region will showcase export-quality fresh and dried fruits and nuts, vegetables, processed foods, wool, cashmere, and leathers, as well as carpets and other handicrafts.

The fair will feature business-to-business sessions in which enterprises are matched with appropriate suppliers or buyers and deals are facilitated. Lectures and presentations on business opportunities, the investment climate, and Afghanistan’s policies and regulations – including export and import standards –will be delivered by Afghan trade development authorities.

The AgFair will be held at the Mechaniza-i-Zeraati Fairgrounds in Mazar-i-Sharif. October 30 will be devoted to business to business deals and will require a business card or tickets for entry. Tickets are available at the Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif offices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA), and the Export Promotion Agency of Afghanistan (EPAA)

October 31 is open to the general public for free. The Fair will be open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The event was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA), Export Promotion Agency of Afghanistan (EPAA), and supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Learn more: Agriculture | Economic Growth

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