Ariana Afghan Airlines has officially implemented a new set of reduced cargo tariffs, a move expected to stimulate Afghanistan’s trade sector at a critical moment for the country’s exporters.

The changes, introduced on Sunday under a directive from the Economic Deputy of the Prime Minister’s Office, apply to both export and import air freight.

Bakhturrahman Sharafat, President of Ariana Afghan Airlines, said the revised pricing structure will make it significantly easier and more affordable for Afghan traders to ship their products abroad. Key export items — including fresh and dried fruits, saffron, carpets, gemstones and other high-value goods — are expected to benefit from faster processing and reduced transportation costs.

Under the new policy, Ariana will transport export goods at a fixed rate of $1 per kilogram, while the rate for imported goods is set at $0.80 per kilogram. Sharafat said the simplified and lowered tariffs would “strengthen Afghanistan’s economy and expand opportunities for Afghan producers in competitive global markets.”

The announcement comes at a time when Afghan exporters continue to face challenges stemming from regional transit restrictions, fluctuating overland shipping costs and limited access to international banking services. Air freight has increasingly become a vital alternative for perishable goods and high-value products, allowing traders to maintain quality and meet market deadlines.

By cutting air cargo rates, Ariana Afghan Airlines aims to reduce logistical pressures on Afghan businesses and improve the reliability of export channels. Trade experts say the measure could help Afghanistan regain market share in key destinations such as India, the Gulf states and parts of Europe, where demand for Afghan agricultural products and textiles remains strong.

The reduced tariffs also underscore Ariana’s broader role in supporting national economic objectives. As one of the few carriers with the capacity to connect Afghanistan to regional hubs, the airline’s pricing reforms position it as a central player in the country’s push to expand export volumes and attract new trading partners.

For Afghan traders, the new rates represent not just a financial relief but a potential turning point — opening a more stable and accessible gateway to international markets at a time when the country’s economic recovery depends heavily on revitalized exports.

Landlocked Afghanistan is leaning more heavily on trade routes through Iran and Central Asia to reduce dependence on Pakistan, officials said, as tension between the neighbours escalates, with the Durand Line crossings closed in recent weeks, Reuters reported.

“In the past six months, our trade with Iran has reached $1.6 billion, higher than the $1.1 billion exchanged with Pakistan,” Abdul Salam Jawad Akhundzada, a spokesman for the commerce ministry, told Reuters.

“The facilities at Chabahar have reduced delays and given traders confidence that shipments will not stop when borders close.”

Traders have three months to settle contracts in Pakistan and shift to other routes, said Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Afghanistan’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs.

Accusing Islamabad of using “commercial and humanitarian matters as political leverage”, he said Afghanistan would not mediate disputes after the deadline and ordered ministries to stop clearing Pakistani medicines, citing “low-quality” imports.

The biggest shift is to Chabahar, used since 2017 under a transit pact with Iran and India. Afghan officials say incentives from tariff cuts and discounted storage to faster handling are drawing more cargo south.

Iran has installed updated equipment and X-ray scanners, while offering Afghan cargo a 30% cut in port tariffs, 75% off storage fees and 55% off docking charges, said Akhundzada, the commerce ministry spokesman.

Reacting to the Afghan authorities’ call for exploring new trade avenues, Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, senior vice-president of Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has expressed concern that Pakistan would lose a big market in both Afghanistan and Central Asian States, with whom Pakistan just recently signed trade agreements worth millions of dollars.

He noted that Afghanistan had the option to sign business deals with almost all Central Asian States along with Iran and Turkiye on easier terms than Pakistan’s, Dawn newspaper reported.

Before Durand Line crossings closure last month, Pakistan was exporting fresh fruits, cement, medicines, fabrics, agricultural tools, shoes, and other products worth $100–200 million per month to Afghanistan.

Zahidullah Shinwari, a former president of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that besides losing the Afghan and Central Asian States markets, the suspension of trade with Afghanistan would also seriously affect the tax collection of Federal Bureau of Revenue, which was collecting millions of rupees on a daily basis from both exports and imports at all border points.

He said that industry in KP would be particularly hit hard by the trade suspension with Afghanistan as the KP industry was heavily reliant on its products to Afghanistan, while they couldn’t compete with industry in Punjab and Sindh due to several reasons.

“Much of our big industry, especially cement factories, are run by coal imported from Afghanistan, so suspension of coal import from Afghanistan will adversely affect the production capacity of our big industries,” he said.

He warned if the trade with Afghanistan ended permanently, it would result in the closure of a majority of industrial units in KP with hundreds of industrial labour becoming jobless, while the owners would go bankrupt.

Trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan came to a standstill over a month ago after Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan and clashes between the two countries.

Recently, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, urged traders to look for new trade avenues, as Pakistan has always created hurdles.