Afghanistan's only sugar plant has began production after rehabilitation, a press release of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the Untied Nations (FAO) said Monday.

After 15 years of non-operation, the New Baghlan Sugar Company, recommenced sugar production recently, it said.

To keep on running the plant, the FAO assists the farmers to provide high quality sugar beet in some 2,500 hectares of land.

Presently 120 people are working in the plant, which has the capacity of processing 600 to 800 tones of sugar beet a day.

One of this project's most important aspect is the production of sugar is the first step towards self-sufficiency in Afghanistan, the press release said.

Afghanistan needs 830,000 tones of sugar in one year and the newly rehabilitated sugar factory covers only 1.3 percent of the country's need.

Like many other Afghan factories, the Baghlan sugar plant was badly damaged during the past decades of war.

Source: Xinhua