India exempts Afghanistan’s fruits exports from customs duty

The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) announced on Wednesday that the Indian government has pledged to exempt Afghanistan from customs duty on its fruit exports to the country.

Deputy Chief of ACCI, Khan Jan Alokozay, said the Indian government was also willing to provide planes to transport Afghanistan’s fresh fruits to India in case of emergency situations.

According to Alokozay, Afghanistan has exported 17 tons of fresh fruits to India through air in the past two days.

“The Indian government has promised to not collect customs duty and taxes from Afghan fruit exports. Our fruits were exported to India via two planes without any difficulty and within only 6 hours, ” said Alokozay.

This comes as Pakistan has shut the Spin Boldak-Chaman port for the past 2 weeks following the burning of Pakistan’s flag by Afghan demonstrators. As a result, Afghan traders have suffered thousands of dollars in damages.

Previously, closure of the Torkham border also inflicted millions of dollars losses on Afghan traders.

The political rift between the two countries has obliged Afghanistan to look for alternative trade routes. Chabahar Port, direct trade with India and friendly relations with China are deemed as best alternative options for Afghanistan to access international markets with ease.