Afghanistan Times
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KABUL – India’s trade equation with Afghanistan has undergone a notable shift since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, with imports hitting a record $642.29 million in 2023-24 and exports plunging to a 16-year low, creating an unusual trade deficit, according to the Ministry of Commerce data.
This shift comes as New Delhi has initiated its highest-level contact yet with the Taliban regime, which has expressed interest in strengthening political and economic ties with India, acknowledging it as a “significant regional and economic power.”
Recent talks between India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi reportedly centered on expanding trade and leveraging Iran’s Chabahar port, which India has been developing as a strategic alternative to Pakistan’s Karachi and Gwadar ports.
Government data shows that prior to the Taliban takeover in 2020-21, India’s exports to Afghanistan stood at $825.78 million, while imports were valued at $509.49 million. Since then, exports have sharply declined to $554.47 million in 2021-22, $437.05 million in 2022-23, and further to $355.45 million in 2023-24. In contrast, imports from Afghanistan have steadily risen, reaching an all-time high of $642.29 million in 2023-24, except for a temporary dip in 2022-23 when they fell to $452.81 million.
The last recorded trade deficit between India and Afghanistan occurred in 2000-01, marking a rare economic reversal. In 2023-24, major imports from Afghanistan included figs, asafoetida, raisins, apples, garlic, saffron, fennel seeds, almonds, apricots, onions, pomegranates, and walnuts. Notably, India imported 29,123 tonnes of figs last year, nearly all of which came from Afghanistan. The country has also emerged as a major apple supplier to India, ranking third after Iran and Turkey.
Meanwhile, India’s exports to Afghanistan primarily consist of medicines, vaccines, soybean meal, and garments. In the first seven months (April-October) of the current financial year, India’s trade deficit with Afghanistan has widened to $125.27 million, with exports valued at $196.03 million against imports of $321.30 million.
Bilateral trade peaked at $1.5 billion in 2019-20, just before the Covid-19 pandemic, but declined in the following years to $1.3 billion in 2020-21 and $1.06 billion in 2021-22. It further dipped below the $1 billion mark to $889 million in 2022-23, but saw a recovery to $997.74 million in 2023-24. By October 2024, trade had already reached $517.32 million. However, India’s trade with Afghanistan remains marginal, accounting for just 0.09% of its total $1,115-billion trade volume, with Kabul ranking 82nd among its trading partners.
Traders attribute the rising imports of Afghan dry fruits to increased post-Covid demand and ease of trade under Taliban rule. Deepak Agrawal, Secretary of the Nuts and Dry Fruits Council India (NDFCI), highlighted that Afghanistan’s duty-free dry fruit exports to India and the Taliban’s facilitation of trade have contributed to the surge.
