Business
Afghan currency strengthens slightly overnight against US dollar
Sara-e- Shahzadah, Afghanistan’s largest currency exchange market, announced early Thursday that the Afghani had gained some traction and climbed to 95 AFN against the US dollar overnight.
This comes after the AFN was trading at 105 Afghanis to the dollar at close of business on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Afghanistan Central Bank, Da Afghanistan Bank, has said the fourth package of UN cash aid has arrived in Afghanistan.
According to statement, the assistance amounts to $19.2 million and has been deposited with the Afghanistan International Bank (AIB).
The previous cash aid package of $19.2 million arrived in Kabul on Sunday.
Da Afghanistan Bank added that efforts have been made to facilitate principled ways to prevent “poverty and misery” for the Afghan people, and that the country’s banking system and foreign exchange needs will be resolved soon.
“Da Afghanistan Bank has always sought to keep the value of the Afghan currency stable against foreign currencies,” the statement said.
Central Bank officials also said the leadership of this institution is trying to stabilize the Afghani.
This comes after the AFN slipped to a dismal 130 Afghanis to the US dollar this week.
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials have however been taking steps to stabilize the currency and on Tuesday banned the use of foreign currencies for commercial transactions in the country.
Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi, deputy prime minister, who is heading up a commission to curb the currency’s freefall, said at a press conference that the AFN would stabilize on the back of steps being taken.
“We have ordered clerics, local officials and security forces to prevent the use of foreign currencies [being used] in Afghanistan,” said Hanafi.
Mawlawi Hanafi warned that the authorities would take serious action against anyone found to be using, hoarding or smuggling foreign currencies.
The National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) confirmed Tuesday that in the last month of solar year 1402, (March 2024) Afghanistan’s exports totaled $141.1 million and imports totaled $789.6 million.
This was down from $174 million for exports in the same period in 1401. However, imports increased by $99.2 million in 1402, up from $690.4 million.
Most exports in the last month of 1402 went to Pakistan, India and the United Arab Emirates, while in the last month of 1401 exports went to Pakistan, India and China.
The Ministry of Interior said the governor of Herat province Islam Jar met with Alim Khan Yasin Gildaye, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Afghanistan, to discuss various issues around trade.
According to the ministry, the two sides discussed the expansion of trade facilities, increasing the volume of trade exchanges between traders of the two countries, reducing customs tariffs, solving the challenges of traders and issuing visas to them.
The Afghanistan-Kazakhstan Chamber of Commerce has been opened in Herat in order to facilitate and increase trade between the two countries.
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC) says Afghanistan has reached self-sufficiency in 45 sectors and the production of 133 items, and that the ministry is striving to change Afghanistan from an importing country to an exporting one.
The ministry officials said that for this purpose, supporting domestic products and attracting investment is essential.
The ministry’s spokesman Abdul Salam Jawad Akhundzada emphasized increasing the use of domestic goods and products in government and national projects and added that efforts have also begun to find a market for domestic products inside and outside the country.
“We have reached self-sufficiency in 133 items of production, which is 45 sectors, and also we reached the capacity of semi-self-sufficiency in 95 items of production, which is 27 sectors,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chamber of Industries and Mines (ACIM) says over the past two and a half years, more attention has been paid to the development of domestic production and it is also expanding.
The chamber officials stressed expanding the culture of using domestic products in government projects.
“I think that the government is one of the biggest consumers in the market if it uses domestic products in all its development projects,” said Abdul Nasir Rashtia, a member of ACIM.
Economic experts also said that if the use of domestic products in government projects increases, Afghanistan will quickly move towards economic independence.
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