Iran is the biggest exporter to Afghanistan and this year’s exports have reached $1.5 billion, according to Afghanistan’s Chamber of Commerce and Investment statistics.
Electrical appliances, raw materials for production, petroleum products and foodstuff are the main commodities exported from Iran to Afghanistan.
ACCI says this year Afghanistan’s exports to Iran reached $17 million, which shows a 50% increase compared to last year.
“We have been exporting goods to Iran for 30 to 35 years, but still Iran does not import some important goods. Iran has put high tariffs on Afghan goods. We ask Iran to give us preferential tariffs like other countries,” said Mohammad Younes Momand, the head of ACCI.
Officials of Herat’s Chamber of Commerce and Investment said Afghanistan’s exports to Iran are mostly dried fruits, agricultural products and coal, which they are striving to increase, TOLOnews reported.
“Iran had been one of the countries to which we make the most export. 40% of exports from the southwestern provinces, which include marbles, dry fruit and agricultural products, have been exported to Iran,” said Mohammad Yunus Ghazizada, the head of Herat’s Chamber of Commerce and Investment.
Commenting on the potential for economic growth, Abdul Nasir Reshtia, an economist, said, “If attention is paid to the packaging and standardization of domestic products, there is no doubt that we can export more to the neighboring countries and to the world.”
Economic Ties After Taliban Takeover
Afghanistan and Iran are major trading partners since they share an extensive border. In 2021, after the US exit from Afghanistan, the Taliban announced that it would resume fuel imports from Iran.
With its trading power and mineral wealth, Iran is seen as a major factor for Afghanistan's economic recovery.
The Taliban takeover in July initially led to the closure of border crossings and decline in trade.
Milak border crossing, Iran’s main trade gateway with Afghanistan, reopened on Aug. 11.
“With the reopening of the Milak border, Iran's three official borders with Afghanistan are open and the process of exporting Iranian goods by Afghan traders and shipping companies to this country is underway,” Rouhollah Latifi, the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration’s spokesman, was quoted as saying by IRICA’s Telegram Channel, Gomrok News.
Milak border located in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan Province was closed from Aug. 6 for security reasons due to the Taliban offensive in Afghanistan. The border is one of the major strategic junctions that connects landlocked Afghanistan to international waters through Iran.
In July, trade exchanges at two other checkpoints between Iran and Afghanistan, namely Sheikh Abu Nasr Farahi Customs (known as Mahiroud on the Iranian side) and Islam Qala border crossing (Dogharoun), came to a halt after the Taliban seized control.
Latifi said in August that Mahiroud and Dogharoun border crossings have reopened and are currently active.
A total of 1.08 million tons of commodities were exported from Sistan-Baluchestan Province’s Milak and Mirjaveh border crossings during the current Iranian year’s first eight months (March 21-Nov. 21), showing a 26% rise compared with the similar period of last year.
“These consignments were carried by 46,877 trucks. The figure shows a 29% increase YOY,” a local official, Teymour Baqeri, was quoted as saying by the news portal of Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
Around 431,168 tons of goods were exported via Milak to Afghanistan and 650,086 tons through Mirjaveh to Pakistan.
“Our main exported products were liquefied gas, hydrocarbons, gasoline, fruits and vegetables. During the eight months, more than 168,000 tons of products were imported via Mirjaveh checkpoint and a total of 399,700 tons of goods were transited through the two border crossings,” he said.
“Afghanistan was Iran's fourth largest export destination among neighboring countries and fifth among all countries in the fiscal 2020-21 [that ended on March 20],” Iran’s former commercial attaché to Afghanistan, Mohammad Mehdi Javanmard-Qassab, was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.
Iran and Afghanistan have agreed to facilitate bilateral trade and strengthen economic ties, the latter's interim administration run by the Taliban announced in October.
Taliban Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, who is also the acting deputy information and culture minister, said in a statement that a meeting was held between Afghan and Iranian officials "with the aim of strengthening economic ties and providing necessary facilities for trade issues between the two countries", Anadolu Agency reported.
The two sides agreed on 16 issues, including an increase in working hours to facilitate the flow of goods at the Dogharoun (Islam Qala) border, review of tariffs on goods and services, as well as fuel supply.
In September, foreign media reported that Tehran resumed fuel exports to Afghanistan after weeks and months of political uncertainty.
While the two delegations agreed to hold talks on infrastructural issues, the statement noted that Iran "will cooperate in the field of health and tourism".
Joint Economic Cooperation Committees
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Finance has announced that the two neighboring states have established several joint committees in the fields of economy, agriculture, railroad, trade and investment, Afghan business news portal Wadsam reported.
The joint committee was set up during a meeting between Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran’s special envoy to Afghanistan, and Taliban representatives.
Introducing representatives of the two sides to export flour and oil to Afghanistan, launching technical studies on the Khaf-Herat railroad project, establishing an Afghanistan-Iran-China tripartite committee to build and finance the Herat-Mazar-i-Sharif and Wakhan-Kashgar railroads, joint ventures in the field of agriculture, establishment of a joint chamber of commerce, ease of obtaining visas for businessmen of the two countries, increasing the capacity of industrial estates and facilitating the transit of Afghan exports by Iran were among issues agreed by the bilateral committee.
“Most of our trade problems pertained to Iran,” said Ahmad Wali Haqmal, a spokesman of Afghan Ministry of Finance. “The goods purchased by our traders from Iran were not processed on time and the visa period was very long.”
Working committees have started functioning in the fields of trade, investment, mining, customs, banking and culture.
