The Afghanistan National Standards Authority, a government entity under Taliban control, said it had turned back 10,000 tons of steel products at Islam-Qala port that came in from Iran, as the goods failed to meet the minimum standards requirements.
Islam-Qala port, in Herat province, is the country’s busiest trade port with Iran.
A decision was made to standardize materials used in the construction industry in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s standards authority said.
Over the past few months, the Taliban has also turned back numerous tankers carrying sub-standard fuel.
However, both Iran and Uzbekistan have denied that the low-grade fuel has been exported to Afghanistan by them.
The move to turn the fuel tankers away has however sparked sharp criticism among members of the public and traders, especially as the price of oil and gas has risen sharply.
However, Iranian officials in Khorasan Razavi province said the overall volume of exports to Afghanistan has risen by at least 5% in the past few months.
According to Iranian officials, within the first quarter of the 1402 solar-year (March 22 to June 22, 2023), over 643 tons of products were exported to Afghanistan, which shows a five percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Iran mainly exports oil, gas, construction materials and food to Afghanistan.
