With Kabul falling into the hands of the terrorist organization Taliban, a long political turmoil came to an end that sent shock waves across the world. After the radical organization took control of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, the Taliban halted India-Afghanistan trade, which caused a stir in Indian markets. The Taliban takeover is driving up the prices of dry fruits in India, especially those imported from Afghanistan. With trade stalling, India is facing demand and supply problems of dry fruits, which are driving up the prices of these commodities.
Afghanistan’s capital Kabul is under the control of Taliban for the second time in the last 25 years. This is the second time the Taliban has toppled the country’s government. The Taliban were ousted from power in Afghanistan in 2001 by US-led forces, they recaptured the Afghan capital, Kabul, on 15 August.
According to media reports, after the capture of Kabul, the Taliban had stopped the movement of goods through Pakistan’s transit routes, which stopped exports and imports from the country.
According to trade and industry chambers, India is the largest market for Afghan products in the entire South Asia region. Ever since the Taliban stopped exports to India, the prices of dry fruits have been moving upwards. While buyers of almonds, figs, apricots and raisins are seeing an increase of over Rs 200 per kg, the prices of pistachios have also increased by Rs 250 per kg.
Federation of Indian Export Organisations, a trade promotion body jointly set up by the Union Ministry of Commerce and the private business sector told media agency ANI, “We are keeping a close watch on developments in Afghanistan. From there the imports take place through the transit route of Pakistan. This time, [the] The Taliban have stopped the movement of goods to Pakistan, so almost imports have been stopped.
This supply problem has come at a time when the festive season is starting in India and the demand for dry fruits has increased rapidly. From the wide range of dried fruits available, India is made of dried raisins, walnuts, almonds, figs, pine nuts, pistachios, dried apricots, besides fresh fruits like pomegranate, apple, apricots, cherries, watermelon, and melon, medicinal herbs and saffron. imports. From a South Asian country.
According to the website of the Afghan Embassy, the bilateral trade between India and Afghanistan stood at $1.5 billion in 2019-2020. On the other hand, India’s exports to Afghanistan reached $1 billion and India’s imports from Afghanistan reached $530 million. Bilateral trade between India and Afghanistan stood at $1.4 billion in 2020-21. Exports from India stood at $826 million and imports were $510 million in 2020-21. According to the statement given by the Chambers of Trade and Industry, bilateral trade between India and Afghanistan stood at around Rs 10,000 crore in 2020-2021. This includes goods worth Rs 6,000 crore being exported from India to Afghanistan and products worth Rs. Rs 3,800 crore is being imported into India from Afghanistan.
India’s trade with Afghanistan has steadily improved over the past five years. Indian exports to Afghanistan witnessed a growth of over 89% between 2015-16 and 2019-20. Similarly, India’s imports also grew by 72% during the same period. The export value increased by 39% and imports by 21% in 2019-20 as compared to 2018-19.
Traders and industry bodies are expecting the situation to improve with the passage of time. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid also took to Twitter to offer a ray of hope for businessmen in India and said, “The Islamic Emirate seeks better diplomatic and trade relations with all countries.”
Now, India will have to wait and see how the trade situation between Afghanistan and India adapts to it in future.
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