The Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industries urged the government to establish a steel plant said that the growth of Afghan industries depends on such a plant.
Mr Azarakhsh Hafezi head of international relations at ACCI said that the government's recent ban on the export of scrap metal is a positive but insufficient step. Scrap metal is sold to Pakistani industrialists at low prices and imported at considerably higher prices.
The chamber said that the government to make available the iron ore extracted from Afghan mines to national manufacturers in order helps the iron and steel sector become self sufficient in procuring their supplies.
Mr Azarakhsh said that "If the government makes available iron ore to national manufacturers and does not rush to sell it as a raw material to big international companies, Afghanistan will become self-sufficient with the domestic supply of raw materials."
