In Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, this year’s grape harvest is abundant, but producers cannot sell their crop due to border closures caused by fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The closures have cut off access to the Pakistani market, which absorbs nearly all Afghan grape exports. Faced with collapsing prices, producers are now drying their grapes into raisins, with the price of 7 kilograms falling from 1,000-1,200 afghanis to just 400-450 afghanis. In 2025, 44,225 tons were exported for $13.8 million; this year, only 256 tons have left the country, worth a mere $100,000. Employment in orchards has plummeted from 1,500 to around 15 workers, deepening hardship in a nation already gripped by widespread poverty.
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