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Kabul (Pajhwok): Pajhwok Afghan News investigation revealed that after the regime change, the prices of daily necessities soared and the Afghani depreciated severely, but later the Afghani recovered by 45.5%, while the prices of daily necessities fell by 30% and the price of fuel fell by 49%.
The weekly economic report of Pajhwok Afghan News reports the exchange rate of the Afghani against foreign currencies, 49 kg of Kazakh flour, 24 kg of Pakistani rice, 49 kg of Indian sugar, 16 liters of Malaysian cooking oil, 1 kg of African black tea, 1 kg of Indonesian green tea, 1 liter of diesel, 1 liter of gasoline and 1 kg of liquefied gas.
Based on weekly economic reports, a comprehensive report from August 2022 to August 2020 was compiled.
On August 15, 2021, the previous government led by President Ashraf Ghani was overthrown and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) took over.
Afghani to US Dollar exchange rate:
The results of the investigation by Pajhwok Afghanistan News showed that on July 24, 2021, 1 US dollar was exchanged for 79.7 Afghanis, but by December 13, 2021, 1 Afghani was exchanged for 130 Afghanis, and the Afghani depreciated by 63% against the US dollar.
Afghani appreciation, depreciation against the dollar
Afghani to US Dollar
date
Statistics show that after July 24, 2021, the Afghani rose by 45.5% against the US dollar. Today (Thursday), August 15, 1 US dollar is exchanged for 70.9 Afghanis.
Abdul Nasir Reshtiya, an expert on economic affairs, told Pajhwok Afghanistan News on the appreciation and depreciation of the dollar: “Since Afghanistan’s economy is dependent on foreign aid, Afghanistan is completely dependent on imports. Afghanistan’s production is not very impressive and there are problems in the export sector. Therefore, Afghanistan imports everything it needs, which requires foreign exchange, especially dollars. The demand for dollars in the Afghan market is very high. Dollars are still smuggled out of Afghanistan, which has a great impact on the value of the dollar. The value fluctuates very much.”
He added: “Political issues also had an impact; whenever there was good news, the value of the afghani went up, and whenever there was bad news, its value went down, which is why these issues emerged in the early post-transition period.”
But later, cash aid started again and the Afghanistan Bank (DAB) also adopted the policies of the republican regime. DAB injected 40 million US dollars into the market every week, which met the market demand and prevented the smuggling of US dollars out of the country. In addition, these efforts and the increase in exports also affected the stability of the Afghan currency. The value of the Afghan Afghan rose again. A lot of work has been done and some plans have been put in place.
Prices of basic food items:
Pajhwok’s findings showed that on July 24, 2021, a 49 kg bag of Kazakh flour was worth 1,700 Afghanis, a 24 kg bag of Pakistani rice was worth 2,350 Afghanis, a 49 kg bag of Indian sugar was worth 2,400 Afghanis, a 16 liter bag of Malaysian cooking oil was worth 1,900 Afghanis, a kilogram of African black tea was worth 400 Afghanis, and a kilogram of Indonesian green tea was worth 350 Afghanis.
But on June 4, 2022, 49 kg of Kazakh flour cost 2,700 Afghanis, 24 kg of Pakistani rice cost 3,100 Afghanis, 49 kg of Indian sugar cost 3,850 Afghanis, 16 liters of Malaysian cooking oil cost 3,000 Afghanis, a kilogram of African black tea cost 400 Afghanis, and a kilogram of green tea cost 350 Afghanis.
On August 10, 2024, 49 kg of Kazakh flour cost 1,550 Afghan Afghans, 24 kg of Pakistani rice cost 2,650 Afghan Afghans, 49 kg of Indian sugar cost 2,850 Afghan Afghans, 16 liters of Malaysian cooking oil cost 1,450 Afghan Afghans, one kg of African black tea cost 450 Afghan Afghans, and one kg of Indonesian green tea cost 400 Afghan Afghans.
Basic food price changes from 2021 to 2023
Talking about the rise and fall of basic food prices and the impact of the Afghani on food prices, Abdul Nasir Reshtia said: “As I mentioned before, all the needs of Afghanistan are imported from outside, and all goods and daily necessities are purchased with US dollars, so the rise or fall of the US dollar exchange rate will have a direct impact on goods and food.”
fuel:
According to the weekly Pajhwok Afghanistan News, on July 24, 2021, the price of one kilogram of liquefied gas in the Kabul market was 60 Afghan shillings, the price of one liter of diesel was 75 Afghan shillings, and the price of one liter of gasoline was 57 Afghan shillings.
As of June 26, 2022, the price of one kilogram of liquefied gas has risen to 76 Afghanis, the price of one liter of diesel has risen to 127 Afghanis, and the price of one liter of gasoline has risen to 95 Afghanis.
Fuel price increases and decreases
The report shows that by June 9, 2024, the price of one kilogram of liquefied gas will drop to 50 Afghanis, one liter of diesel will drop to 63 Afghanis, and one liter of gasoline will drop to 62 Afghanis.
On July 24, 2021, the total price of one kilogram of liquefied gas, one liter of diesel and one liter of gasoline was 174 Afghanis, but by July 16, 2022, the price soared to 298 Afghanis, an increase of 71%.
Statistics show that the total price of fuel-related commodities fell by 41% from July 16, 2022 to August 10, 2024. In this regard, Reshtia said: “Generally speaking, oil and food materials are strategic materials and are imported from abroad. Therefore, whenever the price of the US dollar falls or rises, it will have a direct impact on the price of commodities in the market.”
There is no doubt that no matter how stable the Afghani currency is, no matter how much the US dollar depreciates against the Afghani, from the current point of view, it is beneficial to Afghanistan and the Afghan economy, because Afghanistan is an import-dependent country, the lower the US dollar exchange rate, the lower the price of raw materials and strategic materials, but if a country is an exporter, no matter how low the exchange rate of the country’s currency against foreign currencies is, they can export to the same extent, such as China and other countries.
People cheer stability, deflation in Afghanistan:
“If you remember, at the end of the republican regime, as the regime collapsed, the price of raw materials and the value of the dollar were rising, and when the system collapsed, the dollar-Afghani exchange rate increased day by day, and the food prices went up very high, and the people’s economy was ruined, so I am personally very worried and think the situation is getting out of control,” Najiba Kakar, a resident of the Khoshar Khan area of Kabul, told Pajhwok Afghanistan News.
She added: “Alhamdulillah, the IEA has the situation under control, oil prices have fallen and the Afghani exchange rate has stabilized against the dollar.”
Mohammad Nisar, a taxi driver in Kabul, said: “When the previous government collapsed, the dollar-Afghanistan exchange rate suddenly rose to 130, oil prices also rose, and people’s economic situation was very bad. And the exchange rate was controlled.”
He said the economic situation would worsen if prices were not controlled.
He asked the IEA to improve the public economic situation and eliminate unemployment, as most people are unable to buy basic food despite falling prices.
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