40 Percent of Factories Halt Operations as Business Declines

Factory owners called on the government to take action and help with the situation.

The Chamber of Mines and Commerce said on Sunday that 40 percent of factories across the country have halted their activities due to a lack of raw material and lack of market demand.

Another 30 percent of factories are on the verge of stopping their activities, said the organization.

Factory owners called on the government to take action and help with the situation.

Abdul Wakil is a factory owner in Kabul who stopped his work three months ago.

“We have a pipe factory, but now we are in decline because of a lack of demand for construction materials in the market,” said Abdul Wakil.

According to the Chamber of Mines and Commerce, only 30 percent of factories are operating in the country: those making or processing foodstuffs, detergents and medicines.

“There is a lack of raw material, bazaars and markets are closed. There are also other problems which have had an impact on the situation in Afghanistan following the quarantine. 40 to 50 percent of the factories have stopped working, 30 percent have reduced activities by half. Many employees have lost their jobs,” said Sakhi Ahmad Paiman, the deputy head of the Chamber of Mines and Commerce.

“We couldn’t manage to complete the establishment of the factories that we planned because of security threats,” said Hamid Gardezi, a factory owner in Kabul.

The government pledged to support the factory owners in the past, but factory owners are waiting to see if the Afghan government can or will do anything to deal with the current crisis.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industries has not commented.