Afghanistan imposes ban on import of Saffron from abroad

A spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock of Afghanistan, Akbar Rustami, said President Ghani has ordered a ban on import of Saffron from the other countries to Afghanistan.
Rustami further added that the step has been taken to ensure the Afghan Saffron maintains its global reputation, quality, and value in global markets.
This comes as the Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, Nasir Ahmad Durani had earlier said that Saffron from other countries are being imported to Afghanistan and are exported under the label of ‘Afghan Saffron’.
Durani had said the smuggling of foreign Saffron and the export of the low quality foreign low quality Saffron have had negative impacts on the reputation of Afghan Saffron.
In the meantime, Rustami said the recent move by the government, to impose a ban on import of foreign Saffron, had positive impact on harvesting and export of Afghanistan Saffron which have high quality and still possess the No. 1 position globally.