ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 31. Kazakhstan and Afghanistan are planning to bring their mutual trade turnover to $3 billion, Trend reports.
According to Kazakhstan's Central Communications Center, this was stated by the country's Vice Minister of Trade and Integration, Kairat Torebayev.
As Torebayev noted, of all the countries in Central Asia, Afghanistan trades the most with Kazakhstan, with bilateral trade reaching almost $1 billion in 2022, which is 2.1 times more compared to 2021 ($474.3 million).
Overall, Afghanistan holds a prime position as a vital market for Kazakhstan's flour exports, accounting for an impressive 70 percent of the total flour export volume. In the past year alone, flour exports surged by 52 percent, soaring from 895,126 tons in 2021 to 1.3 million tons in 2022.
Additionally, wheat exports to Afghanistan witnessed a growth of 20 percent, rising from 571,704 tons in 2021 to 686,729 tons in 2022. The export of sunflower oil surged by 6.2 times, reaching 17,576 tons in 2022 from 2,825 tons in 2021, while shipments of rye commenced.
From January through May 2023, the trade turnover between the countries reached $316.3 million, with $310 million accounting for Kazakh exports. The potential for Kazakhstan's exports to Afghanistan stands at over $500 million across various sectors, including food, petrochemicals, chemicals, metallurgy, light industry, and machinery.
Meanwhile, a delegation of representatives from business and the government of Afghanistan will arrive in Kazakhstan. On August 3, 2023, the first Kazakh-Afghan business forum will be held in Astana, and on August 4–5, an exhibition of Afghan goods will take place.