Pakistan, Afghanistan suffer huge economic losses due to closure of bilateral, transit trade-PAJCCI -

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PESHAWAR: Senior Vice President Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) and Chairman of Dry Port/Railway Standing Committee of Sarhadi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi (Sitara Imtiaz) has said due to blockade of transit trade, Pakistani exporters have lost about $225 million in the past eight months.
In a press statement issued here on Tuesday, PAJCCI SVP said Afghanistan is the closest and most important market for Pakistani products where full payment is made before delivery of goods.
Pakistan’s annual exports to Afghanistan are about 1.5 billion US dollars and Pakistani exporters have lost about $1 billion due to the trade blockade in the past eight months.
Annual exports of Pakistani products to Central Asian countries via Afghanistan are about $800 million.
Pakistan imports cotton, pulses and other commodities from Central Asian countries which were possible at a relatively low cost via Afghanistan, but the blockade of transit has significantly increased the cost of imports, Zia added.
He said Pakistan used to earn billions of rupees in customs duties and taxes on imported cargo from Afghanistan and Central Asia, which has been affected by the blockade of transit activities. Karachi ports have been a major hub for Afghan transit trade. About 40,000 to 45,000 containers for Afghan imports transit through Karachi annually.
Each container costs an average of US$4,000 in terms of transport, insurance guarantee, terminal handling, port charges, clearing and forwarding and other facilities.
Thus, Pakistan derives an economic benefit of about US$160 million annually from Afghan transit trade.
He said that Pakistan lost about US$106 million due to the closure during the last eight months, while Pakistani ports are considered the shortest and least expensive trade route for Afghanistan.
From October 2025 to April 2026, about 10,000 transit containers remained stranded in Pakistan, which were subject to heavy demurrage and detention charges.
An average fine of US$120 per day was levied on each container, resulting in an additional cost of about US$1.2 million per day to Afghan importers.
During the last six months, this loss reached 216 million US dollars. Afghanistan’s annual exports to Pakistan are about 800 million US dollars.
In the last eight months, due to the trade blockade, Afghan exporters have lost about 533 million US dollars.
Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, who is also the president of Frontier Customs Agents Association (FCAA) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said that Afghanistan’s annual exports to India through the Wagah border are about 300 million US dollars.
In the last eight months, due to the transit closure, Afghan exporters have suffered a loss of about US$200 million.
Due to the disruption of transit cargo in Pakistan, Afghanistan has also lost billions of Afghanis in customs duties and taxes.
Traders, farmers, importers, exporters and all sectors involved in trade on both sides of the border demand an immediate review of the current worrying situation and the restoration of bilateral and transit trade as soon as possible.
The process of sending transit cargo back to ports other than Karachi has proven to be very complicated, expensive and time-consuming, which has further affected the business community of both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
It is a polite appeal to the relevant authorities of Pakistan and Afghanistan to review their current tough stance and both countries should sit down in a friendly atmosphere and find a solution to this issue through negotiations so that bilateral trade and transit activities can be restored, as the promotion of regional trade is indispensable for poverty reduction, economic stability, employment opportunities and peace and security in the region.