Afghanistan Begins Exports to India via Iran’s Chabahar

[Nilgiri]

First time Afghani exporting in this volume!

Well...a billion+ people want their goods eagerly! Iran also benefits big time. It is win win.

 

[HalfMoon]

Great hope they will stay this way and keep using it

Looks like your wish is being fulfilled.


Pak captive market of Afghanistan glides to Iran, India

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has virtually sustained mammoth blow in exports to Afghanistan by 41.57 percent, unfolds the latest data available to The News.

The exports to Afghanistan has drastically tumbled to just $1.4 billion in 2018-19 from $2.6 billion in 2010-11 showing how fast Pakistan is losing its one and only captive market from its influence.

Pakistan’s this captive market has massively slipped to Iran and India mainly on account of the frequent closures of trade borders between Pakistan and Afghanistan and escalating diplomatic tensions.

However, year on year basis, according to the latest trade data of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, Iran’s exports to Afghanistan have increased to $2.8 billion and out of which in first ten months financial year of Iran the exports to Afghanistan have climbed to $2 billion as of June 20, 2019. However, Iranian exports to Afghanistan in 2011 stood at $1.88 billion which now has risen to whooping $2.88 billion with surge of $1 billion in exports, says UN COMTRADE database on international trade.

And currently Iran holds 22 percent share ($2.5 billion) of Afghanistan’s $11.5 billion consumer market. Pakistan’s export which once in 2010-11 stood at $2.6 billion has alarmingly decreased to $1.4 billion showing the bitter fact that Iran has snatched the Pakistan captive market to a large extent. The official said that closure of trade borders between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the wake of terror activities in Pakistan has provided the opportunity to Iran to make inroads in Afghanistan market. “The diplomatic tensions between the two countries have also forced landlocked country to diversify its import regime.”

“If we look at Indo-Afghanistan trade,” the official said, “In 2010, the exports from India to Afghanistan stood at just $115.6 million and the trade between the two states is also growing up which currently stands at $1 billion out of which India’s exports to Afghanistan stand at $873 million showing that the export from India has increased by 655 percent. However, both the countries have shown the commitment to grow the trade between them up to $2 billion by 2020. Currently India is trading with Afghanistan through Chabahar port in Iran and two air cargo routes linking New Delhi and Mambai to Kabul.

The senior official at commerce ministry said that Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan witnessed a mammoth decline due to the decrease in aggregate demand as a result of withdrawal of Nato forces from Afghanistan, increasing trust deficit, worsening law and order situation, frequent closures of the Pak-Afghan border and diversion of Afghan trade to Iran. More importantly Afghanistan which is a landlocked country has diversified its import regime and started importing items from other neighbouring countries reducing the import reliance on Pakistan because of the rise in trust deficit.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has recently directed the relevant authorities to make necessary arrangements for keeping the Torkham border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan operational round the clock within next 6 months to boost bilateral trade ties between the two countries.

According to the details, Pakistan exported the items valuing $1.271 billion to Afghanistan in 2016-17 as compared to exports of worth $2.6 billion in 2011-12. However, the bilateral trade was in 2011-12 at $2.6 billion which has now squeezed to just $1.4 billion.

Interestingly, the imports from Afghanistan have grown up to $414 million which stood at $199 million in 2011-12 whereas Pakistan exports have dwindled by 41.57 percent.

Pakistan often exports cereals and cereal preparations (wheat & wheat flour), raw sugar and refine rice, cement, petroleum products such as kerosene type jet fuel other than JP-1 and JP-4, potatoes other than seeds, vegetables and vegetable preparations, medical and pharmaceutical products, edible brassicas other than cauliflowers. Kabul administration is heavily under the influence of India and has started importing items from other countries despite the fact that the cost of importing from Pakistan is much less than that the importing cost from other neighbouring countries, but Afghanistan has done this reducing the reliance on Pakistan.

As far as the document unfolds, the progress on trilateral transit trade among Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan is concerned, Kabul administration has emerged as stumbling block in the way of the finalisation of the accord. Kabul wants to link it with trade with India through Wagha boarder. Kabul also wants to include in the trilateral transit trade agreement. Pakistan deems the demand of Kabul unjustified as the trilateral transit agreement will become the quadrilateral accord.

Afghanistan further, the document divulges, wanted the market access to India and Saarc countries through Wagha border and to open Wagha border for Indian goods to reach Afghanistan. Pakistan says that inclusion of India in the proposed agreement will altogether change contours of the agreement and scope by providing direct land link with Afghanistan and to rest of Central Asian States and even beyond eroding Pakistan’s commercial and strategic competitiveness in the region.


https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/427419-pak-captive-market-of-afghanistan-glides-to-iran-india

 

[Sineva]

Which one is the opium?

We keep that out the back.

 

[Mithridates]

Well...a billion+ people want their goods eagerly! Iran also benefits big time. It is win win.

what's their major exporting goods to india?

 

[Nilgiri]

what's their major exporting goods to india?

https://tradingeconomics.com/afghanistan/exports/india

You can see the chart and composition there (for 2016):

Fruits, nuts, melons etc...make up about 50%....I would assume they are mostly dried etc (dried apricot etc) so they are not too perishable.

Most of rest seem to be mostly dry agricultural produce of other types.

I think there is good scope for Afghanistan to vastly increase export of other commodities (precious stones, metal ores, raw fibers etc) given Indian demand for these (and Indian jewelry + manufacture +textiles industry etc) and hopefully with time more value added capacity can be invested into Afghanistan (by both India and Iran) to provide more jobs and earn more revenue from exports for them....so they can process more of their exports into more valued/demanded form themselves.

It is to be noted that in 2017 (trading economics does not have this number up yet)...the trade increased much more compared to 2016 according to comtrade (I would assume composition is fairly among the same lines)...reaching about 1 billion USD in total:

So I would assume the trend continues in 2018 and beyond. Chahbahar capacity and related logistics route should be sufficient to route the current and projected volumes through (given pakistan land route is shut down now and likely will stay shut down)....and capacity increased as needed as time goes by.

@Joe Shearer @Tshering22 @anant_s @VCheng @Tokhme khar @Cthulhu @TheUndertaker @jbgt90 @scorpionx @randomradio @SOHEIL @GeraltofRivia @Marine Rouge @Atlas @kmc_chacko @Vibrio

Regarding this recent 1st shipment specifically, the composition is more or less on expected lines:

https://www.dawn.com/news/1466072

Officials said 23 trucks carrying 57 tonnes of dried fruits, textiles, carpets and mineral products were dispatched from western Afghan city of Zaranj to Iran’s Chabahar port. The consignment will be shipped to the Indian city of Mumbai.

 

[VCheng]

I think there is good scope for Afghanistan to vastly increase export of other commodities (precious stones, metal ores, raw fibers etc) given Indian demand for these (and Indian jewelry + manufacture +textiles industry etc) and hopefully with time more value added capacity can be invested into Afghanistan (by both India and Iran) to provide more jobs and earn more revenue from exports for them....so they can process more of their exports into more valued/demanded form themselves.

And carpets. Fantastic carpets and rugs.

 

[ThePatriotPK]

@Neptune_ In punjabi they say "Shah nalon shah da Kuta syana" Stop being a shah da kutta.

 

[SubWater]

Chabahar marshals rupture of US sanctions on Iran
Tue Feb 26, 2019 10:46AM [Updated: Tue Feb 26, 2019 11:55AM ]

1. Home
2. Iran
3. Economy

This undated photo shows Iran's Chabahar port on the Sea of Oman.


A senior Indian government official says his country plans to raise investment in Iran’s strategic Chabahar port, for which New Delhi has to circumvent US sanctions on Tehran.

Gopal Krishna, secretary of India’s Ministry of Shipping, spoke as Iran on Monday celebrated Chabahar Day marking the port’s growing role in promoting connectivity in the region.

“We need to move away from the sanctions that have been imposed recently on Iran and bypass them,” a Farsi version of his remarks quoted by Tasnim news agency said.

“This is an obligation that requires us to invest in Chabahar as one of the parties to the Chabahar memorandum of understanding and upgrade the port’s terminals,” he added.

The Iranian port provides easy access to the sea to Afghanistan and India has helped develop the route in order to embolden its connectivity footprints in CIS countries - a regional organization of 10 post-Soviet republics in Eurasia.


PressTV-Iran turns to India, China, Russia as EU remains indecisive
Foreign Minister Zarif says Iran is working with its traditional partners to counter EU inaction in the face of US sanctions.
Afghanistan begins exports to India

After decades of war, Afghanistan turns to overseas markets to improve its economy. On Sunday, it began exports to India through Chabahar as 23 trucks carrying 57 tonnes of dried fruits, textiles, carpets and mineral products headed to the Iranian port from western Afghan city of Zaranj.

The consignment will be shipped to the Indian city of Mumbai, with President Ashraf Ghani telling the inauguration of the new export route that Afghanistan was slowly improving its exports in a bid to reduce its trade deficit.

"Chabahar port is the result of healthy cooperation between India, Iran and Afghanistan this will ensure economic growth," he said.

For landlocked Afghanistan, the route means opening the way for billions of dollars in trade and cutting the country’s dependence on foreigners for aid as well as stemming the illicit opium trade.

India has already sent 1.1 million tonnes of wheat and 2,000 tonnes of lentils to Afghanistan through Chabahar.

The Iranian port on the coast of the Gulf of Oman is easily accessible from India's west coast. It is a key link in the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a multi-modal network of ship, rail and road routes to move freight between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.

India took over the operations of the first phase of Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar in December 2018. Commercial operations began the same month with the arrival of a Cyprus-registered bulk carrier with 72,458 tonnes of corn cargo.


PressTV-India, Afghanistan defy US on Iran’s Chabahar plan
India and Afghanistan are pushing ahead with plans to open a new transportation corridor between the two countries via Iran’s strategic port of Chabahar despite US sanctions.
Last year the US government granted an exception to certain US sanctions that allowed India to continue its participation in Chabahar’s development.

The US is basically opposed to the project, not just because of its entrenched hostility to Iran, but also its plans for a long-haul military stay in Afghanistan and its efforts to keep India and Russia as apart as possible.

US President Donald Trump has expressed an interest in Afghanistan’s massive mineral resources which India has already won the rights to exploit, including an iron mine. New Delhi seeks to use a planned railroad to Chabahar to export iron ore from the Hajigak iron mine in central Afghanistan.

According to analysts, the real reason Trump is giving the waivers is because he is unable to force countries such as India and China, which are major clients of Iranian oil, to stop trade with the country.

They say Trump’s refusal to provide waivers would raise the prospect of the US sanctioning Chinese and Indian companies and getting embroiled in yet another trade dispute.

Indian raw sugar exports to Iran

Trade sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Indian traders will export raw sugar to Iran for March and April delivery, New Delhi's first sugar sales to Tehran in at least five years.

Blocked from the US-dominated financial system, Iran is buying the sugar from India to use up the rupees it has received for oil sales to India.

The news agency said trading houses have contracted to export 150,000 tonnes of raw sugar for shipments arriving in March and April at $305 to $310 per tonne on a free-on-board basis.

 

[Tokhme khar]

This is great news indeed. Make these useless Afghani trade instead of killing each other. Irrespective of partisan opinion, all should applaud this development.

 

[Hack-Hook]

As far as I'm aware USA wanted to make Afghanistan and India support them on other sanction so they exempted Chabahar from the sanctions .