Commodity prices have increased in Afghanistan with currency depreciation: WFP

Commodity prices have increased in Afghanistan as the country’s currency depreciated against the US dollar during the past week, the UN World Food Program (WFP) said on Thursday.

WFP said in a report that during the past week, the Afghani declined by 7.6 percent against USD to AFN  79.6/USD, which directly impacted market prices.

It said that Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) conducted USD auctions to stabilize the currency, and the exchange rate returned to around 76 Afghanis per USD of Thursday.

Majority of staple food commodities, such as wheat flour, cooking oil, and rice, are imported into the country. Any changes in the exchange rate directly impact prices in local markets.

Prices collected during the fourth week of January show a slight increase in the price of major food commodities due to the depreciation of the Afghani over the past week, WFP said.

The national average prices of non-food commodities also experienced a slight increase compared to last week due to changes in exchange rate. Compared to last week, the price of DAP, Urea and Improved Seed increased by 2.8%, 3.6% and 0.9%, respectively.

The price of diesel increased by 2.8 percent to AFN 63.9 per litre. Charcoal and gas prices rose by 4.0% and 2.8% respectively.