Taliban bars imports, exports to India from Afghanistan

New Delhi : Soon after capturing Afghanistan on Sunday, Taliban suspended all imports and exports to India from Afghanistan.

Dr Ajay Sahai, Director General (DG) of Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) told ANI that currently, the Taliban has stopped the movement of cargo through the transit routes of Pakistan, thereby stopping imports from the country.

"We keep a close watch on developments in Afghanistan. Imports from there come through the transit route of Pakistan. As of now, the Taliban has stopped the movement of cargo to Pakistan, so virtually imports have stopped," FIEO DG told ANI.

With large investments in Afghanistan, India has a long-standing trade relation with Afghanistan.

"In fact, we are one of the largest partners of Afghanistan and our exports to Afghanistan are worth around $835 million for 2021. We imported goods worth around $510 Million. But besides the trade, we have a sizeable investment in Afghanistan. We have invested around $3 billion in Afghanistan and there are 400-odd projects in Afghanistan some of which are currently going on," Sahai said. 

"...Some of the goods are exported from international north-south transport corridor route which is fine now. Some of the goods go through Dubai route also which is working," he added.

Currently, Indian export profile includes sugar, pharmaceuticals, apparel, tea, coffee, spices and transmission towers. "Imports are related and largely dependent on dry fruits. We also import a little gum and onions from them," FIEO DG said.