30 pc decline in imports from Afghanistan via Attari ICP

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Servicce

Amritsar, January 18

The decline of 30 per cent in the imports from Afghanistan through the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari can be attributed to clashes between Pakistan forces and Taliban fighters on the international border being shared between Afghanistan and Pakistan besides floods in Afghanistan.

The trade through Attari-Wagah route dipped as the import from Afghanistan registered a fall of Rs 1,018 c in 2022 (from January 1 to December 31) in comparison to the previous corresponding period (2021).

Earlier, the bilateral relations between India and Pakistan had brought down the ICP at Attari from the highest revenue generating dry port in the country to an entity in loss.

As per the data shared by the Land Port Authority of India, the ICP at the Attari-Wagah border recorded import of Rs 2119.2 crore from Afghanistan which was pegged at Rs 3137.69 crore in 2021.

The share of dry fruit import from Afghanistan to India stands at just 10 per cent of its total import. The US is the biggest supplier of dry fruit in India followed by Australia, Iran, Turkey and other countries. A good amount of Afghan dry fruit is imported through the ICP at Attari.

Another reason is said to be the tardy pace of normalisation of the Afghan banking system after after the Taliban taken over by toppling the Ashraf Ghani government in August 2021. In the meantime, only those importers had received supplies which had good old relations.