The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) on Monday said that the United Arab Emirates has shown interest to purchase saffron from Afghanistan during President Ghani’s trip to the Arab nation.

According to MAIL statistics, Afghanistan produced at least 16 tons of saffron last year with most of it exported to European, gulf and Chinese markets.

“Willingness of countries for purchasing saffron from Afghanistan can help in boosting investment in saffron sector,” MAIL spokesman Akbar Rustami said. “With the expansion of saffron production, the way will be paved for the increasing of saffron exports to various countries, including United Arab Emirates markets.”

President Ghani on Sunday visited UAE where he met top officials including Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and the two leaders discussed economic cooperation between the two nations.

“President Ashraf Ghani and Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum during their discussions emphasized on the importance of bilateral relations between Afghanistan and the UAE and further expansion of these relations based on the mutual interests of the two countries,” Presidential Palace said in a statement.

“The two sides also stressed the need for further expansion of trade and investment between Afghanistan and the UAE and hailed the signing of cooperation agreements between the two governments in various areas such as development, energy, mining, education, culture and sports,” reads the statement.

The Presidential Palace in a tweet on Monday said that cooperation and trade between the two countries will expand in "unprecedented levels" as a result of Ghani’s visit.

Afghan saffron is considered among the best in the world and has scooped international awards on numerous occasions.