Baku, Azerbaijan, May 27
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
Afghanistan currently has no alternative to Iranian oil and oil products, Peyman Sakhi, Chairman of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce & Industries (ACCI), told ILNA, Trend reports.
According to Sakhi, it is very difficult for Afghanistan to find an alternative. He added that, should imports of oil and oil products from Iran come to a halt, Afghanistan will have to meet its needs by purchasing oil products from Central Asian countries (particularly from Turkmenistan) at much higher prices.
In his words, Iran sells oil to Afghanistan by 20 percent cheaper than to other countries. "Afghanistan consumes three million barrels of crude oil annually, one million barrels of which are provided by Iran," he said. Sakhi added that oil imports from Iran have increased during the past six months.
Sakhi went on to say that in recent months, some 6,000 tons of oil were declined and returned to Iran by the Afghanistan Petroleum Authority under the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum due to poor quality. However, Afghanistan continues to purchase petrochemical, oil and oil products from Iran.
Jafar Pourfarjoudi, a spokesperson for National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC), stated on May 21, that exports of Iran's oil and oil products to Afghanistan have not ceased. Afghanistan has prevented the export of low-quality fuel and fuels failing to comply to international standards by Iran’s private sector.