TEHRAN (Iran News) –Head of Mashhad Office of Iran-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce says the trade exchange between Iran and Afghanistan has increased by 25% and admitted that Afghan Government does not give concession easily.
Speaking to ILNA, Mr. Hadi Nabizadeh said that the trade between Iran and Afghanistan was facing downward trend in the first quarter of the year, adding that the trade got momentum from August and is getting better and since August, the bilateral trade with Afghanistan has grown by 25 to 30 percent but it has not repeated the last year’s volume yet.
He went on to say that the trade between Iran and Afghanistan declined about 30% two years ago and the decline continued last year and fell to 35% but since the beginning of this year, the trade has witnessed 20 to 25% growth because the rise in the dollar rate for exports made the trade justifiable.
Nabizadeh then pointed to the reasons behind the decline in the trade between Iran and Afghanistan and stated that problems in the fields of border transportation and transfer of money are the major reasons behind this decline. He added that transfer of dollar is done via the forex shops or middlemen because the transfer of dollar in Afghanistan is not allowed.
He reiterated that the current Afghan government has made real the export tariffs, stipulating that unfortunately Iran’s government has not talked with Taliban for adjusting the trade tariffs while Pakistan government has talked and almost zeroed Afghanistan’s export tariffs but Iran has not reached such an agreement with the Taliban. Nabizadeh also pointed to the costs of transportation which has increased after restriction over the arrival of Afghanistan trucks in Iran.
He added that Iran government sometimes gives considerable advantages to its Afghan counterpart but the Afghan government does not give advantages to Iran easily, adding that Turkey and its traders have long term plans in Afghanistan and for this reason Turkey has obtained major part of Afghanistan’s market.
He reiterated that exploitation from some Afghan mines has been handed over to Iran and if it happens, it will help a great deal to the trade growth between the two states.
Nabizadeh noted that Iran’s national currency rial is a currency which has been used for trade between Iran and Afghanistan for years, adding that trade in dollar increases the value of exporting goods by 10 to 15% and if the trade between the two states continues in rial, Iran’s government can zero the chance of money laundering through its security system.
He concluded that industrial products, ironware and plant production are of the major exports of Iran to Afghanistan and in return it can import dried fruits sesame seed but due to the quarantine restrictions, Iran hardly import agro products from Afghanistan.
