Afghanistan is scrambling to diversify its trade partners after a deadly border clash with Pakistan last month brought ties to their lowest point in years.
The South Asian neighbours have been locked in an increasingly bitter dispute since the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, with Islamabad accusing Afghanistan of harbouring the militants behind cross-border attacks – charges the Taliban government denies.
Pakistan is landlocked Afghanistan’s top trading partner, supplying rice, pharmaceuticals and raw materials, while taking in 45% of Afghan exports in 2024, according to the World Bank.
More than 70% of those exports, worth US$1.4bil (RM5.8bil), are perishable farm goods such as figs, pistachios, grapes and pomegranates.
Dozens of Afghan trucks were stranded with rotting produce when the frontier shut on Oct 12 due to cross-border fire, which was followed by a fragile truce.
Losses have topped US$100mil (RM415.5mil) on both sides, and up to 25,000 border workers have been affected, according to the Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI), which seeks to promote bilateral trade.
Wary of further disruptions, the Taliban government is now hedging its bets with Iran, Central Asia – and beyond.
Trade with Iran and Turkmenistan has jumped 60-70% since mid-October, said Mohammad Yousuf Amin, head of the Chamber of Commerce in Herat, in western Afghanistan.
Kabul also sent apples and pomegranates to Russia for the first time last month.
Russia is the only country to have officially recognised the Taliban administration.
“Afghanistan has too many fruits and vegetables it cannot store because there are no refrigerated warehouses,” said Torek Farhadi, an economic analyst and former IMF adviser.
“Exporting is the only way and quickly, before the products spoil,” he said.
Kabul touts Iran’s Chabahar port as an alternative to Pakistan’s southern harbours, but Farhadi noted it is farther, costlier and hampered by US sanctions.
“It’s better for both countries to end this trade war ... They need each other,” Farhadi said.
Afghanistan relies on Pakistan’s market of 240 million people and its sea access, while Islamabad wants Afghan transit to reach Central Asia for textile and energy trade.
Truck driver Naeem Shah, 48, has been waiting at the Pakistani border town of Chaman with sugar and cooking oil bound for Afghanistan.
“I haven’t been paid for a month. No matter who I call, they say there is no money because the border is closed,” he said.
“If it doesn’t reopen, we will be distraught.” — AFP
