The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has announced that during the current solar year, Afghanistan’s trade with five Central Asian countries has reached a value of $1.696 billion.
According to Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad, the ministry’s spokesperson, $112 million of this amount consists of exports, while $1.584 billion accounts for imports.
“The trade between Afghanistan and the Central Asian countries—Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan—continued normally over the past ten months of solar year 1403, reaching a total value of $1.696 billion, of which $112 million were exports and $1.584 billion were imports,” said the spokesperson.
Afghanistan’s exports to these countries included fresh and dried fruits, various juices, talc stone, and agricultural products such as asafoetida (hing), potatoes, and onions. In return, Afghanistan imported electricity, fuel, wheat flour, cooking oil, raw materials for factories, chemical fertilizers, and cement from Central Asian countries.
Economic experts believe the increase in trade between Afghanistan and Central Asia is valuable for regional and international trade growth and emphasize the need for further expansion of commercial ties.
“Central Asian countries can be a good market for us. If you look at it, they largely want to connect South Asia with Central Asia through Afghanistan after the Ukraine war. However, unfortunately, Afghanistan faces many challenges,” said Mohammad Nabi Afghan, an economic analyst.
“Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are Afghanistan’s neighboring countries. When Afghanistan’s economic strategy is implemented, we primarily need to engage with our neighbors,” said Mohammad Asif Stanikzai, another economic analyst.
According to statistics, Afghanistan’s total trade value in 2024 amounted to $12.422 billion, with $1.803 billion in exports and $10.619 billion in imports.