KABUL (TCA) — Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) says Iran was Afghanistan’s largest trade partner in the last solar year — from March 2017 to 21 March 2018, exporting goods worth over US $1.98 billion, TOLOnews reports.
The ACCI said that trade volume between Afghanistan and Pakistan was $1.2 billion USD in the same time, and $1 billion USD with China.
“Now Iran is our biggest (trade) partner,” ACCI deputy chief Khan Jan Alokozay told TOLOnews.
“Iran has surpassed Pakistan’s place, which means we have more than two billion dollars in imports and exports with Iran. Imports are high but exports are a lot less. Meanwhile transit is also good through that route (Iran).”
According to ACCI, Afghanistan’s total foreign trade during the past solar year totaled $7 billion USD.
An Afghan economist, Qais Mohammadi, said that the Afghan government should increase exports as the value is a lot less than that of imports.
“In order to increase exports, there should be a focus on products other countries need (from Afghanistan), but the government has not worked on this matter so far,” he said.
Afghanistan’s main imports from Iran are construction materials, food and fuel.
ACCI’s statistics show that Afghanistan has exported at least one million tons of goods to other countries in the last year, particularly to Pakistan.
