Abdulsalam Hanafi, acting Deputy Prime Minister of the Taliban caretaker government in Afghanistan, has pledged to address all problems faced by Afghan traders, a statement from his office said on Monday.
In a meeting with traders, Hanafi said that the Taliban administration would do its best to find an amicable solution to the problems of traders and businesspersons.
Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in mid-August, the U.S. has reportedly frozen more than nine billion U.S. dollars of assets of Afghanistan’s central bank and thus undermined the banking system in the war-torn country.
“Slapping sanctions on Afghanistan assets has undermined bank activities in the post-war country.
“Afghan traders can’t withdraw enough funds from the banks to run their businesses,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the structure of Afghanistan rentier’s economy is unsustainable.
Under the previous regime, grants made up around 40 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The country runs a massive trade deficit, amounting to about 30 per cent of GDP.
It has required grant assistance to finance its trade deficit. And, at the moment, it’s unable to access its foreign exchange reserves.
Afghanistan is a net food and energy importer.
Domestic milling capacity remains inadequate, so the country imports substantial amounts of wheat flour.
Officially, the country’s top exports include raisins and pine nuts.
In reality, its largest export is opiates. Ending the cultivation of poppy, as the Taliban have recently pledged to do, will be massively disruptive and jeopardise their support.
The narcotics industry is a major provider of livelihoods, especially in southern Afghanistan. (Xinhua/NAN)