Kabul residents complain of high fuel price ahead of approaching winters

KABUL: As winter approaches in Afghanistan, a number of Kabul residents have complained about the high price of fuel, particularly coal and wood, Afghanistan-based TOLO News reported. People said that they are unable to purchase fuel due to economic challenges and a lack of work.

Najibullah, a Kabul resident, said, "There is no work, there are no foreigners, people live in poverty, now a bag of coal costs 1,500, 1,700 or 2,000," TOLO News reported.

Farhad, a Kabul resident, stressed that the Taliban should pay more attention as winter is approaching and the people have nothing in this cold season. Some coal and wood sellers have criticised the lack of markets and said that people are unable to purchase fuel for their winter due to economic problems.

Mohammad Dawood, a seller, said, “Our challenges are too many, people don’t have money to buy fuel.” He said, “People use coal and wood more because it is economical, but [currently] wood is 8,500 afghanis and 5 bags of coal is 5,000 Afghanis,” according to TOLO News report.

Meanwhile, Taliban-led Afghanistan’s Deputy Minister of Economy, Abdul Latif Nazari said that the problems of people of Afghanistan will be resolved by importing cheap and quality fuel, TOLO News reported.

He said, “The Islamic Emirate intends to solve the problem of importing high-quality fuel.” Earlier, some of the people in Afghanistan criticised the high price of fuel and food as winter approaches.

Earlier this month, the World Bank noted that half of all Afghans are living in poverty. The World Bank has revealed the figures in its latest monthly report known as the “Afghanistan Economic Monitor,” TOLO News reported.

According to the report, total exports amounted to USD 1.3 billion from January to September 2023, marking a slight decrease of 0.5 per cent in comparison to the same period in 2022.

Pakistan remains Afghanistan’s largest export market, accounting for 55 per cent of total exports, followed by India at 29 per cent. According to the report, imports reached USD 5.7 billion, showing a 27 per cent growth, TOLO News reported.

According to TOLO News report, Khairuddin Maiel, deputy of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment, commented, “Certainly, in these nine months, our exports have decreased, and the reason for the decrease is that we did not export coal from the country, and secondly, we had these problems at the borders with our neighbours.”