KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) 鈥� When landlocked Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan late last year and their , Afghans turned to their western neighbor, Iran, for an alternate to Pakistan鈥檚 major shipping hub of Karachi.
They rerouted shipments through Iran’s port of Bandar Abbas, but not for long. The port lies on the , where war has stranded hundreds of ships and . Meanwhile, thousands of Afghanistan-bound containers were stuck in Pakistan.
For Afghan businesses and aid groups, losing both trade routes has been devastating.
Malnourished women and children turned away
The United Nations鈥� World Food Program, whose Afghan operations include life-saving nutritional supplements for and fortified high-energy biscuits for schoolchildren, has seen transportation costs skyrocket and supplies choked off.
Most of WFP鈥檚 nutrition supplies were sourced from Pakistan, the organization said. After that border closed in October, it began rerouting shipments by sea through Dubai and Iran. Now that route is effectively closed as Tehran controls the strait and the U.S. blockades Iranian ports.
The nutritional supplements began to dwindle. By mid-April, they had run out.
鈥淎t a time when malnutrition is already at near-record levels, weakened and desperate mothers and children are being turned away from health clinics, as we have no food to give them,鈥� said John Aylieff, WFP鈥檚 country director in Afghanistan.
Even before the crisis, the organization had . It has received only 8% of its annual funding this year.
鈥淥n top of a funding crisis, conflict in the Middle East and the closure of the border with Pakistan are choking WFP鈥檚 operations 鈥� blocking supply routes, driving up costs and straining markets at the worst possible time,鈥� Aylieff said in emailed comments.
A shipment on the road for three months
Now supplies must be routed by land through Central Asia, far from any ocean. WFP鈥檚 transportation costs have tripled, while its cost of supplements for malnourished mothers and children has jumped by 35%, Aylieff said.
The outbreak of the Iran war in late February saw one of the organization鈥檚 shipments of high-energy fortified biscuits stuck in the United Arab Emirates.
Instead of being shipped from Dubai to Iran and into Afghanistan, it has been taking a long, circuitous route through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and across the Caspian Sea into Turkmenistan, the organization said.
It鈥檚 been on the road for three months.
Afghan businessmen struggle with stuck shipments
Lutfullah Akbari runs a small company in Kabul importing construction equipment. With his supplies from China stuck on ships unable to transit the Strait of Hormuz and costs for the logistics company transporting them rising, 鈥淚 have nothing else to use to continue my business here,鈥� he said.
He鈥檚 now considering abandoning his cargo if the waterway doesn鈥檛 reopen soon.
鈥淭he Iran-U.S. war has had a huge impact on my business,鈥� he said. Other traders have rerouted shipments through Central Asia, but it’s longer and more expensive.
鈥淭he logistics company now wants more than the value of our goods and the capital we had invested in them. We can鈥檛 afford it,鈥� Akbari said.
鈥淓ven if I bring them here, I鈥檒l have to sell them all at a loss. I can鈥檛 afford to lose twice.鈥�
The cost of one delivery shot up 10 times
Gul Meer Amini, director of logistics at freight company Etifaq Bamyan International Transport and Trade Forwarding, said the Iran war has dramatically increased costs. Some of the cargo his company handles includes humanitarian aid.
Before the war, the cost of renting a container was about $3,000 to $3,600 per shipment but it has now surged to over $7,000. For some goods, it has topped $11,000, he said.
鈥淭he impact is reaching all traders,鈥� Amini said.
Mohammad Murtaza Ishaqzai, who sells electronics in Kabul, said delivery for his goods from China via Iran cost about $1,100 to $1,500 before the war. That鈥檚 now shot up to more than $15,000.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 export and we can鈥檛 import,鈥� he said, and appealed to the Taliban government to resolve its conflict with Pakistan, which would allow border trade to resume.
If the situation continues, he said, 鈥渙ur business will be finished.鈥�
Majority of trade is now through Central Asia
Afghanistan’s Commerce and Trade Ministry spokesperson Abdul Salam Jawad said overall price increases in the country had remained low, at around 3%, thanks to continued trade with Iran and the sourcing of many imports from Central Asia, Russia and China.
鈥淭he problem we faced was the restrictions on our imported goods and containers coming from other countries鈥� via Iran, he said. 鈥淲e are waiting for a solution to be found in the Strait of Hormuz so that we can export normally.”
Khan Jan Alokozai, senior adviser to Afghanistan鈥檚 Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said more than 60% of Afghanistan鈥檚 trade is now through Central Asia, mitigating the Iran war鈥檚 overall impact.
Food and petroleum products are coming in through Central Asia and Russia, while much trade is now being conducted via Turkey, with goods then transported by rail through Iran or Azerbaijan, Alokozai said.
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Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece.
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