ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s exports of goods and services to Afghanistan dropped by 43.61 percent in July against the same period last year, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported.
According to Pakistan’s The Nation, exports totaled $61.25 million this July against exports to the value of $108.64 last year.
Imported products from Afghanistan also dropped by 56.7 percent from $9.7 million last July to $4.2 million this year.
SBP also reported an overall decline in exports to other countries in the same period. In July exports dropped by 14.57 percent from $2.2 billion to $1.89 billion.
Much of this could be attributed to the closure of all Pakistan’s borders in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Only in June did Pakistan start opening borders again with Afghanistan.
Three key trade routes — Chaman, Torkham, and Ghulam Khan border crossings opened but had to deal with major backlogs.
Pakistan and Afghanistan share 18 crossing points. The most commonly used ones are Torkham and Chaman. (ATN)