Over 7% Decline in Pakistan’s Exports to Afghanistan in Eight Months

The State Bank of Pakistan has reported that Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan have decreased by more than seven percent in the past eight months.

Pakistani media, citing the State Bank, have reported that during this period, the country’s imports from Afghanistan also decreased by 59 percent.

According to a report in Pakistan’s national newspaper, China ranks first among Pakistan’s neighboring countries in terms of exports, with other countries like Bangladesh and Afghanistan ranked second and third, respectively.

The report states: “Exports to Afghanistan decreased from $346 million to $319 million, and imports dropped from $13.54 million to $5.44 million.”

Maiwand Hotak, head of the Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said, “The ports and passages that we have with Pakistan are all of great importance to us, and we must strive to solve any arising problems as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, the Afghan Ministry of Industry and Commerce also speaks of a 24 percent decrease in the country’s exports to Pakistan and a 30 percent increase in imports from this country over the past year.

Akhandzada Abdul Salam Javad, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, said, “During the year 1402, trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan was about $2.443 billion, of which $926 million was exports and $1.517 billion was imports.”

In the meantime, the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce has requested Islamabad to extend the Karachi railway to Peshawar to facilitate and reduce the cost of goods transfer between the two countries.

Naqibullah Safi, head of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce, says that with the launch of this railway, the cost of transporting goods will decrease, and traders of both countries will be saved from paying exorbitant fees.

Safi added, “The Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce wants permission in Karachi for Afghan transit goods to be transferred to other containers and transported via rail to Torkham.”

This comes at a time when border tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan and the forced deportation of Afghan migrants from Pakistan are cited as the main reasons for the decline in trade between these two countries over the past year.