Siden Irans regering satte et stop for export af benzin og diesel til Afghanistan for et par uger siden, er priserne steget eksplosivt, skriver Irinnews torsdag. Det rammer især almindelige afghanere, der i forvejen er udsatte i den hårde vinter.
A sharp rise in fuel prices caused by a recent Iranian fuel export ban, against a backdrop of rising global fuel prices, has bumped up food and medicine prices across Afghanistan, prompting concerns about the welfare of millions of vulnerable Afghans this winter.
Petrol and diesel prices have jumped 10-15 percent (with petrol rising from 45 to 55-58 afghanis a litre) since Iran blocked hundreds of Afghan fuel tankers on its border over two weeks ago. Afghanistan gets 30-40 percent of its fuel from or via Iran, according to the Afghan Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI).
Tehran’s ambassador in Kabul, Fida Hussein Maliki, said his government wants to control fuel exports to or via Afghanistan to ensure that NATO and US military forces in Afghanistan are not using the fuel.
NATO and Afghan officials say the blocked tankers were only importing fuel for Afghan civilians.
“If the fuel was for NATO forces it would not have such an immediate and strong impact on our market,” Anwar-ul-Haq Ahadi, the minister of commerce and industries, told IRIN.
“Transport is the backbone of commerce in this country and when transport is expensive everything is going to be expensive,” he said.
