Afghanistan’s Trade Surge: Exports Reach $154 Million Amid Strained Pakistan Relations

The Taliban Ministry of Industry and Trade announced that Afghanistan’s exports through air corridors have reached 154 million dollars over the past nine months, while imports through the same route amounted to 121 million dollars. At the same time, the ministry reported that the value of Afghanistan’s imports through the Chabahar port of Iran has increased to over 2.5 billion dollars…

The Taliban government’s Ministry of Industry and Trade stated that in the last nine months, the value of Afghanistan’s exports through air corridors has reached 154 million dollars. Abdul Salam Jawad, the ministry’s spokesperson, said at a press conference in Kabul that the value of Afghanistan’s imports through these air corridors is also 121 million dollars.

Export items and destinations

Abdul Salam Jawad added that Afghanistan exports its goods directly through air routes to Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and India, from where these products reach other global markets.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Trade listed Afghanistan’s export items as dried fruits, saffron, dried and fresh figs, jujube, black pine nuts, new clothing, and handicrafts. In return, various medicines, electrical appliances, and mobile phones are imported into Afghanistan through air corridors.

Increase in imports from Chabahar due to tensions with Pakistan

The Ministry of Industry and Trade also announced that in the year 2024 AD, Afghanistan exported a value of 127 million dollars through the Chabahar port of Iran. However, the significant figure is noted in the import sector, where the value of Afghanistan’s imports through this port has reached two billion and 534 million dollars.

The noticeable increase in Afghanistan’s imports through the Chabahar port occurs amid escalating tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan in the past four years, where the borders of that country have often been closed to trade and transit. Currently, it has been nearly a month since, due to border clashes, trade routes and passenger movement between the two countries have been completely shut down.

The extensive use of the Chabahar port allows Afghanistan to access various regional and global markets while simultaneously significantly reducing its commercial and transit dependency on Pakistan’s ports.