After the Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) recently said that the Taliban have stopped all imports and exports with India after entering Kabul and taking over the country, Delhi-based Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) in a statement said the change of regime in Afghanistan would affect India's trade relationship with the neighbouring country.

FIEO director general Ajay Sahai told a news agency that the Taliban have stopped the movement of cargo through the transit routes of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, exporters and brokers of textile products in Gujarat’s Surat claimed payment of about ₹400 crore has been stuck due to the unrest in Afghanistan. They fear the payments won’t be received soon given the scale of uncertanity there.

CTI said India and Afghanistan had a bilateral trade of about ₹10,000 crore in fiscal 2020-21. It includes exports worth ₹6,000 crore and imports worth ₹3,800 crore.

India is one of the largest partners of Afghanistan and has invested around $3 billion in the country with 400-odd projects there, Sahai said. India’s exports to Afghanistan include apparel, sugar, pharmaceuticals, tea, coffee, spices and transmission towers. Imports include dry fruits, gum and onions, he said.

"In the current situation, bilateral trade between India and Afghanistan will be badly affected because in these circumstances the future is uncertain, shipments of people is stranded and payments can be stuck on a large scale. The government of India should take immediate cognizance of this and some way should be found," CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal reportedly said.

Despite the fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan, Sahai is optimistic about trade relations with the country, saying that the new Afghan regime, over a period of time, will also realise that economic development is the only way to move forward and will continue with the earlier trade.

“The situation is unpredictable and the impact on city’s textile business to Afghanistan can be bad. We can only hope for fast improvement in the situation so as to get business,” Narendra Saboo, president of Surat Mercantile Association (SMA), was quoted as saying by a top English-language daily.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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