Afghanistan registered trade surplus with Pakistan: US Monitoring agency

The report — prepared for the US Congress by the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) — noted that Afghanistan’s currency, the Afghani, appreciated by 11.6 per cent against the Pakistani rupee, reports Dawn News.

The agency noted that despite economic and political troubles, the Afghan currency remained relatively steady this quarter, appreciating by 6.1pc against the euro and 0.2pc against the Indian rupee as well.

Data issued by Afghanistan’s central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), however, showed that between the end of June and mid-September, the Afghani depreciated 0.6pc against the US dollar and 1.9pc against the Chinese yuan.

Quoting from the most recent trade data collected by the World Bank, SIGAR reported that Afghanistan’s main imports from Pakistan this year remained food items, followed by pharmaceutical products and wood.

But rising oil prices in the international market tilted bilateral trade in Afghanistan’s favour as Pakistanis looked for alternative fuel sources.

“Afghanistan is exporting about 10,000 tons of coal a day to Pakistan,” the SIGAR report added, showing how Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers were benefiting from rising oil prices.

“Between June and July 2022, the Taliban tripled prices on coal exp­orts to raise revenue from its mining sector amid booming coal exports to Pakistan,” the report said.

Pakistan is one of the largest trading partners of Afghanistan.

The country is currently ruled by the Taliban.

The Taliban took control over Afghanistan on Aug 15, 2021.