The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) said wheat imports have dropped by 20 percent since the political change last August.
The ACCI said the high cost of importing wheat is the reason.
“The importing of wheat is less. The main reason is that the tariffs are the same on both wheat and flour,” said Khanjan Alokozai, a member of the ACCI. Previously, wheat — prior to being processed as flour–could be imported at a cheaper rate, according to the ACCI.
This comes as the deputy spokesman for Islamic Emirate, Inamullah Samangani, said in a series of tweets that the Third Deputy Prime Minister met with the Yerlan Baidaulet, director-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) food security department.
Baidaulet “referred to the food crisis in Afghanistan, and said that Kazakhstan is considering resuming wheat exports to Afghanistan at its previous rate,” Samangani said.
A food industry union said that the import of wheat will cause a reduction in the price of wheat in Afghan markets.
“If the wheat is imported into Afghanistan as before, it will have a positive impact on the market,” said Sayed Kamal Farid Safi, head of the union.
Farmers are concerned with a lack of water for their crops.
“There has been less rain. Previously, the precipitation was good,” said Romal, a farmer.
ACCI said Afghanistan imports between 1.5 to 2 million tons of wheat annually, and most of the wheat is imported from Kazakhstan.—Tolonews
