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73
in 1959 it will be in a position to handle 60,000 tons. Sugar extracted is calculated at 13 per cent of the total tonnage. In 1954 the plant produced 5,300 metric tons of refined sugar, and 7,500 metric tons are planned for 1960. A second factory is also planned. When this starts working it is expected that Afghanistan will become self-sufficient in producing sugar for its own needs.
The factory now operates 60 days in November and December, after a six to seven-month growing season. Sugar beets provide a good growing crop for farmers. The farmer now raises about six tons per acre, but this can be doubled with the use of commercial fertilisers. Beet production in this area increased 42 per cent from 1952 to 1953. All waste from the plant is returned to the farmers for cattle feed free of cost. The usual farm in this area is about six acres in size, on which crops of sugar beets, cotton, wheat and fruits, including grapes, are usually grown. It is estimated that the average sale value of all the crops from such farms is about 15,000 Afghanis a year each farm.
The Sugar Factory at Industrial Baghlan is owned by individual stock-holders, the Afghan National Bank (Bank-i-Millie) owning 85 per cent of the stocks. The factory employs 60 to 65 office workers, 60 permanent labourers, and up to 1,000 temporary labourers during the season. The Sugar Company has its own farm with 500 cattle, 600 to 700 sheep, 100 horses, 20 camels and 20 mules.
Jalalabad Sugar Factory: This plant has a capacity of 350 to 500 tons of sugar annually.
Petroleum: There are a good many indications that considerable quantities of crude oil exist north of the Hindu-Kush,
Roughly two thirds of characters agree with a modern printed edition of the same text. Much of the disagreement is editorial, not misreading. Treat the transcription as a finding aid and read the page image before quoting. How this was measured.