India’s imports of dry fruits, including almonds, raisins, dried apricots, and pistachios, from Afghanistan are expected to be impacted due to the closure of the land borders amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack, which is expected to push domestic prices of these commodities, according to exporters.
Following the terror attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 people, mostly tourists, India took a series of measures, including immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post, used for movement of certain kinds of goods.
In retaliation, Pakistan also announced that all trade with India, including to and from any third country through Pakistan, is suspended forthwith. This move may affect India’s exports to Afghanistan.
India’s decision to close the Integrated Check Post (ICP) atAttari with immediate effect, in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, is set to halt cross-border trade worth Rs 3,886.53 crore between India and Pakistan. Bilateral trade had already been in decline since India imposed a 200 per cent duty on Pakistani goods in 2019, following the Pulwama terrorist attack, data from the Land Ports Authority of India shows.
According to official data, India exported items such as soya bean, poultry feed, vegetables, red chillies, plastic granules, and plastic yarn, while importing goods including dry fruits, dates, gypsum, cement, glass, rock salt, and herbs from Pakistan via the Land Port at Attari. The port, spread over 120 acres, assumes significance since it has direct access to National Highway 1.
Tensions between the two countries — particularly following the Pulwama attack — reduced trade between India and Pakistan from Rs 4,370.78 crore in 2018–19 to Rs 2,257.55 crore in 2022–23. However, trade rebounded to Rs 3,886.53 crore in 2023–24, the highest in the past five years. Notably, total cargo movement also dropped from 49,102 consignments in 2018–19 to just 3,827 in 2022–23, the data shows.
In dollar terms, total India-Pakistan trade has shrunk to about $2 billion annually over the past five years, a small fraction of the $37 billion trade potential estimated by the World Bank. India’s overall goods trade stands at $430 billion, while Pakistan’s is approximately $100 billion.
