Industrial development increased substantially after
World War II (1939-1945). With the opening in 1965 of a large West
German-built wool mill, woolen-textile production more than doubled. Among
the other factories located primarily in Kabul are plants manufacturing
textiles (the most important manufactured export product) and footwear;
government-operated cement plants; a fruit-processing plant; a plant
making coal briquettes; and several cotton gins. As with other aspects of
the economy, the war has been a major obstacle to industrial expansion.
