Afghanistan: Around 4 cable, wire manufacturing plants shut down since Taliban takeover

Since the Taliban took control of Kabul following the dissolution of the Afghan government on August 15, nearly four cable and wire manufacturing plants have closed in the nation.

According to Tolo News, factory owners have stated that their plants have closed due to an increase in raw material prices and a drop in demand.

Yar Mohammad, an official from the Afghanistan Chamber of Industry and Mines (ACIM) stated, “Four factories have closed down because of the high price of raw materials. Also, banks are not working properly and the people (business people) cannot withdraw their money," Tolo News reported. 

Further, ACIM officials claim that the factories that are still operational are facing major financial difficulties. According to an official from one of the shuttered factories, they used to manufacture two tons of wire and cable every day, but they have now ceased operations, leaving their employees jobless. A factory official, Farid Ahmad, remarked, “The factory is closed, our production has stopped. Our factory is in a bad situation," Tolo News reported.  

Afghanistan manufacturing plants import raw materials from China

Although ACIM asserted that Afghanistan is close to being self-sufficient in wire and cable production, plant owners claim that cable as well as wire, are also imported from nations like Iran and Pakistan, putting indigenous companies at a disadvantage.

The majority of wire and cable manufacturing plants, as per ACIM, are situated in the provinces of Kabul, Herat, Balkh, Nangarhar, and Paktia, and these firms import raw materials from China. ACIM also highlighted that Afghanistan requires around 100 tons of cable and wire each day, and local companies are capable of providing this demand if they continue to work properly and do not close due to economic concerns. 

In addition to this, earlier in the month of December 2021, as per the nation's private construction businesses' union, major developmental construction projects worth over $5 billion had been temporarily suspended. According to TOLO news, the association had pressurised the Taliban administration to appoint a minister of urban development and housing in order to resolve the uncertainty surrounding construction projects in Afghanistan.

(Image: PTI/ Representative Image)