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World Bank says Afghanistan private sector adversely affected due to economic crisis

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A World Bank survey has said that Afghanistan’s ongoing economic crisis has adversely affected economic activities in the country with the private sector suffering the most.

The survey was carried out in October and November and was made public on Thursday, April 7, 2022.

The survey indicates that most Afghan traders complain about the lack of demand in markets, which has reduced economic activities and investment in the country.

One in three respondents of the survey has said that they have suspended their businesses after August 2021.

Based on the findings of the survey, 38 percent of small firms have suspended their operations, 35 of medium firms have been closed, and 25 percent of big firms have stopped their activities.

In the meantime, the existing economic situation has also impacted women-run businesses, and 42 percent of these businesses have been suspended.

Private sector members also approved the findings of the survey.

"We believe that some post-transformation economic problems have arisen, but the cause is the World Bank itself. Had they not stimulated Afghanistan's economic systems, Afghanistan's economy would not have been in trouble," said Sherbaz Kaminzada, CEO of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries.

The Afghan Ministry of Finance rejected the report and questioned its accuracy. Its officials said that economic activities in the country have increased over the past few months and that Afghanistan is still developing economically.

“First of all, we have to see how accurate this report is. The other thing is that the World Bank itself is to blame for the economic crisis in Afghanistan. Our assets have been blocked and sanctions have been imposed. These are all the problems," said Ahmad Wali Haqmal, the finance ministry’s spokesman.

The World Bank survey also points to unemployment after the 15th of August 2021 and says that companies in Afghanistan have laid off more than half of their employees, majority of them being women.

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Iran’s non-oil exports to Afghanistan rise by 31% this solar year

Iran’s imports from Afghanistan also rose sharply, totalling over $33 million, a 192% increase in this period

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Iran's non-oil exports to Afghanistan surged by 31% in the first half of this solar year (April to September 2024), totalling over $1.77 billion.

According to Iran’s trade association in Afghanistan, both the value and volume of non-oil exports to Afghanistan saw substantial growth. 

Statistics provided by the association indicate that nearly 560,000 tons of Iranian goods, including iron, steel, cement, eggs, and potatoes, were exported to Afghanistan during this period.

Iran’s imports from Afghanistan also rose sharply, totalling over $33 million, a 192% increase in this period. 

The primary exports to Iran included barley, corn, peanuts, and chilies.

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Private sectors of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan sign contracts worth $100 million

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Private sectors of Afghanistan and Kazakhstan have signed contracts worth $100 million during the visit of an Afghan delegation to Almaty recently, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) announced on Thursday.

The agreements include the export of more than 2,000 tons of dried fruit, the export of fresh fruit, including pomegranates, and the export of cotton, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, said on X.

Mujahid said that the Islamic Emirate delegation during its recent visit to Kazakhstan signed a "road map of cooperation between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan in the fields of trade, industry, mining, energy, logistics, agriculture, telecommunications, health, higher education and humanitarian aid.”

He said Kazakhstan also assured that it would provide more facilities for the transit of Afghan goods to China and other countries through Kazakhstan.

The allocation of an area "as a logistics center for Afghan goods" in the port of Khargos was also part of the agreement between the two sides to facilitate the unloading and loading of Afghan traders' goods.

The spokesman of the Islamic Emirate also said that Kazakhstan will participate in the construction of the Torghundi-Herat, Kandahar-Spin Boldak and Mazar-e-Sharif-Kharlachi railway projects.

Mujahid added that Kazakhstan will also participate in the establishment of a trade and transit center in Herat province, which will be used to store and finance trade and transit goods. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan has agreed to establish permanent expo centers for the sale of Afghan goods in various cities of Kazakhstan.

It is worth mentioning that the delegation of the Islamic Emirate led by Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, participated in the three-day exhibition of Afghanistan's domestic products, which was launched on October 21 in Almaty.

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce recently announced that 23 tons of pomegranates from Kandahar province were exported to Almaty through the port of Torghundi.

 

 

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China resumes direct rail trade with Afghanistan

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China resumed its direct freight rail services to Afghanistan on Thursday when a train loaded with goods left Nantong city in Jiangsu province.

The train, carrying commercial goods in 55 wagons, is heading for the northern Hairatan border in Balkh province, Yue Xiaoyong, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Special Representative for Afghanistan, said in a post on X.

Nantong is a central hub of the Belt and Road Initiative and is located north of Shanghai.

The resumption of the rail line was marked at a formal ceremony on Thursday with Yue and Bilal Karimi, the Afghan Ambassador to China, in attendance.

This comes after China recently announced plans to lift customs tariffs on Afghan exports to China by the end of this year, further strengthening trade ties between the two nations.

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