Afghanistan registers trade surplus with Pakistan: SIGAR

Afghanistan registered a trade surplus of $79 million with Pakistan from July 2021 to June 2022, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) stated in its latest report.

The report — prepared for the US Congress — noted that Afghanistan’s currency, the Afghani, appreciated by 11.6 per cent against the Pakistani rupee.

SIGAR noted that despite economic and political problems, the Afghan currency remained relatively steady this quarter, appreciating by 6.1pc against the euro and 0.2pc against the Indian rupee.

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.

Citing World Bank data, SIGAR reported that Afghanistan’s main imports from Pakistan this year remained food items, followed by pharmaceutical products and wood.

“Afghanistan is exporting about 10,000 tons of coal a day to Pakistan,” SIGAR stated adding that the IEA was benefiting from rising oil prices.

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

The report noted that the United States remains the largest donor to Afghanistan, providing more than $1.1 billion to Afghanistan since the IEA takeover.