KABUL: The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) on Saturday said Afghan traders have not yet exported their goods through Chabahar port due to the lack of infrastructure facilities.
Last month, Afghanistan, Iran and India signed a trilateral agreement on the Chabahar port. India will invest $500 million to develop the port in Iran and if materialized, the port will be a gateway for India to central Asian countries.
Experts say the Chabahar port will positively impact Afghanistan’s economic, political, security situations and will help resolve Afghan traders’ problems in transporting their goods. Afghanistan will earn millions of dollars through the port annually.
Though some Iranian media outlets reported Afghan traders’ goods had reached the Chabahar port, the ACCI said since the launch of the port, no Afghan export goods have been so far registered.
Siamuddin Pasarlai, ACCI public relations director, told Pajhwok Afghan News exports through Chabahar port would have a positive impact on Afghanistan’s economy but the lack of infrastructure, cold storages, factories and large ships were problems Afghan traders faced at the port.
He termed high land prices and land purchasing procedure at the Chabahar port as another issue for Afghan traders. “Land prices aren’t so much high in real, but brokers’ rate has made them many times higher than its real price and it’s the main reason Afghans are unable to purchase the lands at the port.”
He asked Indian and Iranian authorities to resolve the issues in order to enable Afghan traders to export their goods through the port and provide other facilities for them.
Chabahar is an open sea port in Iran’s Sistan Balochistan province, having a great capacity for shipping goods and services, especially for a land-locked country like Afghanistan.
With the launch of trade via Chabahar port, Afghanistan could earn millions by shipping a huge quantity of goods and services, like clothes to central Asian countries and create job opportunities for Afghans directly and indirectly, and the port can help resolve issues traders facing in exporting goods through Pakistan’s Karachi Port.
