Modern pine nut processing facility in Afghanistan
Pine nuts are worldwide used as a snack and are an ingredient for many oriental and Mediterranean dishes. Pine nuts are not cultivated but collected. There are twenty different varieties with different prices. Afghanistan has one of the most tasty varieties and is therefore highly valued. Most pine nuts are shipped to Pakistan and mixed with inferior qualities. Pine nut quality depends mostly on timely drying, to prevent the development of dangerous toxins. Shipment to Pakistan significantly reduces quality and price. The applicant is a Dutch company specialised in processing and trading nuts, seeds, pulses and spices. Together with the local partner, he aims to set up a processing facility in Northern Afghanistan and to ship the processed nuts directly to Europe. In this way, value is added in Afghanistan and quality preserved. A major challenge is to set up a supply chain in Afghanistan. Pine trees are "assigned" to tribes by the government and passed on to villagers who have the right to collect the nuts. The local partner will offer the villagers a contract, paying 50% before and 50% after delivery, using a predetermined price. The villagers will organise themselves in groups and be represented by the village chairman. This is an improvement: often the nuts are collected by foreign traders who do not always pay the agreed price. The groups will receive a special stone and plastic sheets to remove the seeds from the cones according to food safety standards. The nuts will be pasteurised and shelled in the plant. If the factory is at full capacity, 5,000 villagers will be receiving approximately €800 euro per year from the joint venture, instead of €450 from Pakistani traders.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
The principles concern the relevant aspects: environment, gender, child labour and labour policies. It is recommended to have SMART principles concerning labour policies and workplace safety. Also, food safety certification based on HACCP is of key importance.

Project number
NL-KVK-27378529-PSIP12AF03Total budget
€ 932,396Countries
AfghanistanProject status
FinalisedBudget spent
Tied status
UntiedContact
iati@rvo.nlProject partners
Netherlands Enterprise AgencySectors
Industrial crops/export cropsType | Provider | Provider ref. | Receiver | Receiver ref. | Value (€) | Date | Value date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Incoming Funds | 78,679.00 | 21-06-2012 | 21-06-2012 | ||||
Incoming Funds | 899,190.00 | 21-06-2012 | 21-06-2012 | ||||
Incoming Funds | -45,472.72 | 26-01-2021 | 26-01-2021 | ||||
Outgoing Commitment | 78,679.00 | 21-06-2012 | 21-06-2012 | ||||
Outgoing Commitment | 899,190.00 | 21-06-2012 | 21-06-2012 | ||||
Outgoing Commitment | -45,472.72 | 26-01-2021 | 26-01-2021 | ||||
Disbursement | 314,715.00 | 16-02-2015 | 16-02-2015 | ||||
Disbursement | 44,960.00 | 09-03-2015 | 09-03-2015 | ||||
Disbursement | 44,960.00 | 09-06-2015 | 09-06-2015 | ||||
Disbursement | 44,960.00 | 04-09-2015 | 04-09-2015 | ||||
Disbursement | 119,892.00 | 03-12-2015 | 03-12-2015 | ||||
Disbursement | 119,892.00 | 03-03-2016 | 03-03-2016 | ||||
Disbursement | 119,892.00 | 03-06-2016 | 03-06-2016 | ||||
Disbursement | 123,125.28 | 27-01-2021 | 27-01-2021 |