KABUL, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan's Herat province has exported over 540 tons of fresh fruits to the international market over the past five months, a significant increase from the previous year, according to the local media TOLOnews on Saturday.

Mohammad Yousuf Amin, executive director of the Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said that in the first five months of 1404 on the Persian calendar starting from March 21, approximately 544 tons and 722 kg of fresh fruits, valued at about 300,000 U.S. dollars, were shipped abroad.

This represented an eightfold growth in exports compared to the same period last year, fueled by a nearly 20 percent rise in fruit yields. Amin said that total exports could exceed 1,000 tons by the end of the year.

The fruits, including apples, cherries, plums, watermelons, melons and apricots, have been delivered to countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, highlighting Herat's expanding role in global agricultural trade.

Herat stands out as one of Afghanistan's premier fruit-producing regions. ■