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Agriculture is the main occupation, although less than 10% of the land is cultivated; a large percentage of the arable land was damaged by warfare during the 1980s and 90s. Largely subsistence crops include wheat and other grains, cotton, sugar beets, fruits, and nuts; the opium poppy is the most important cash crop. Grazing is also of great importance in the economy. The fat-tailed sheep are a staple of Afghan life, supplying skins and wool for clothing and meat and fat for food; goats and cattle are also of economic significance.
Mineral wealth is virtually undeveloped, except for natural gas. There are deposits of iron ore, coal, copper, talc, sulfur, emeralds, and lapis lazuli; oil fields are found in the north. Industry was still only in the beginning stages at the end of the 1970s and has suffered substantial damage since then. Some small-scale manufactures produce cotton and other fabrics, fertilizer, cement, and processed agricultural goods. Extremely high levels of unemployment : up to 70% in Kabul in 2000 : have resulted from the general collapse of Afghanistan's industry.
Opium, fruits and nuts, lambskins (Karakul) and textiles, handwoven carpets, and gemstones are the main exports; petroleum products, manufactured goods, and foodstuffs are the main imports. As a result of civil war, exports have dwindled to a bare minimum, except for the illegal trade in opium (Afghanistan has been one of the world's major producers) and hashish. The country is also becoming a important producer of heroin, which is derived from opium.
Once a major trade hub, the city of Kabul has been ravaged by war, and its industry has largely disappeared, as has its infrastructure. Road communications throughout the country are poor, with pack animals the primary means of transport in the interior. A road and tunnel under the Salang pass, built (1964) by the Russians, provides a short, all-weather route between N and S Afghanistan. The few railway lines in the country are those that were constructed by the Soviets during their occupation of Afghanistan.
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