Business
Afghanistan’s GDP to expand by 3% in 2021: ADB
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecasts that Afghanistan’s gross domestic product GDP growth will increase by 3% in 2021 and 4% in 2022 after the normalization of business activity and market sentiment.
In its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2021 released on Wednesday, the ADB stated that Afghanistan’s economic growth is expected to recover this year and accelerate next year after a sharp decline in 2020 from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and continued violence and instability.
“Afghanistan’s economy experienced unprecedented disruption in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic, political instability and continued violence, which cut remittances, trade, and revenue,” said ADB Country Director for Afghanistan Narendra Singru.
“With a successful COVID-19 vaccine rollout and post-pandemic recovery, the country should be on track to achieve economic growth this year and in 2022 as business activity and market sentiment normalize,” Singru said.
According to the report, inflation more than doubled from 2.3% in 2019 to 5.6% in 2020 driven by higher food prices. Food price inflation in 2020 was estimated at 10% with the highest spike recorded in April when border closure and panic buying propelled it to 16.6%. Inflation is projected to moderate to 5.0% in 2021 and 4.0% in 2022 as food supplies improve.
However, risks remain, including implementing vaccinations in remote and insecure areas, conflict, criminality, corruption, political instability, and broader social fragility. If unaddressed, these could weigh heavily on the economy and impede recovery.
“Supporting the recovery of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) hard hit by the pandemic is pivotal to safeguarding workers’ incomes and livelihoods, according to the report. Before the pandemic, MSMEs were estimated to provide nearly 1.6 million service and industry jobs. The government approved a 2-year support package worth $295 million in October 2020 to improve business conditions and implemented countercyclical measures that include support for MSMEs,” the report read.
The ADB suggests that Afghanistan should facilitate MSME access to markets by developing infrastructure, improving security, combating corruption, simplifying regulation, strengthening property rights and contract enforcement, and promoting innovation and better labor skills in order to improve the business environment.
“Increasing access to credit and further expanding the formal bank sector is also crucial,” the organization said.
“ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region,” the report concluded.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce says that in the solar year 1403 (April 2024 to March 2025), goods worth $292 million were transported through air corridors.
Abdulsalam Jawad Akhundzada, the ministry’s spokesman, said that the value of exports through air corridors this year totalled $125 million and imports $167 million.
He added that the main export items were dried fruits, saffron, dried and fresh figs, jujubes, pine nuts and handicrafts, and the main import items were medicines and electronic devices.
Akhundzada said that exports happened through Kabul, Kandahar and Mazar-i-Sharif airports to the United States, Germany, China, India, Britain, South Africa, Austria, United Arab Emirates and some other countries.
Business
Oman and Afghanistan explore ways to further enhance bilateral trade relations
During the meeting, Rawas and Muttaqi agreed to facilitate trade exchange between the two countries and utilize the available opportunities for mutual benefit.
Faisal Abdullah Al Rawas, Chairman of Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) met with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, for talks on boosting trade relations between the two countries.
The meeting comes within the context of promoting relations between Oman and Afghanistan in the economic and trade sectors.
The two sides discussed ways to expand cooperation in the fields of trade, investment and economy, as well as developing ties in the logistics and tourism sectors.
They also touched on supporting joint projects that contribute to stimulating economic growth.
The two sides underlined the importance of exchanging experiences and knowledge in those fields.
During the meeting, Rawas and Muttaqi agreed to facilitate trade exchange between the two countries and utilise the available opportunities for mutual benefit.
Muttaqi traveled to Oman on Sunday. The foreign ministry announced that the trip was made at the invitation of the Omani Foreign Minister.
Business
Iran’s non-oil export to Afghanistan up 31% in 10 months
Iran exported non-oil commodities valued at $1.9 billon to Afghanistan between March 20 last year and January 19 this year.
The value of Iran’s non-oil export to Afghanistan increased by 31 percent in the first ten months of the Persian calendar against the same period last year, Tehran officials confirmed.
The Tehran Times reported that Iran exported non-oil commodities valued at $1.9 billon to Afghanistan between March 20 last year and January 19 this year.
The spokesperson for the Trade Development Committee of the House of Industry, Mining, and Trade, Ruhollah Latifi, said Afghanistan was the fourth top export destination of Iranian products among Iran’s neighbors in the mentioned ten months.
In a meeting with an Iranian trade delegation in Kabul last August, Afghanistan’s interim Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund said that his country is eager to attract Iranian investors in order to develop the Afghan mining industry, generate solar electricity and expand railway connectivity.
The Iranian delegation also proposed to launch a joint special industrial zone with Afghanistan.
Noting that Afghanistan has turned into a good place for making investment, Baradar said that the relevant ministries and organizations will cooperate and work closely with investors.
The Iranian delegation, made up of economic and trade players, also held a separate meeting with Afghanistan’s acting minister of commerce Haji Nooruddin Azizi. They called for the formation of a joint economic-mining zone between the two neighboring countries.
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