ISLAMABAD — The prolonged closure of border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan has led to sharp increases in prices of essential commodities in both countries, with the price of tomatoes in Pakistan rising fivefold since clashes broke out along the frontier earlier this month.
Trade and transit between the two neighbours have been suspended since October 11, following ground fighting and subsequent Pakistani airstrikes across the 2,600-kilometre border. The skirmishes, described as the worst since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021, left dozens dead on both sides.
According to Khan Jan Alokozay, head of the Pak-Afghan Chamber of Commerce in Kabul, the shutdown has caused losses of around $1 million per day to both countries. “With each passing day, both sides are losing around $1 million,” he told Reuters. He said fresh fruit, vegetables, minerals, medicine, wheat, rice, sugar, meat and dairy products accounted for most of the $2.3 billion annual trade between the two nations.
Prices of tomatoes have jumped to Rs600 per kg. https://t.co/k19I9qYczw
— Dawn.com (@dawn_com) October 23, 2025
In Pakistan, the cost of tomatoes — a staple used widely in local cooking — has soared by more than 400 per cent to around Rs600 per kilogram. Prices of apples, grapes and other fruits imported from Afghanistan have also increased sharply. “We have around 500 containers of vegetables for export daily, all of which have spoiled,” Alokozay said.
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A Pakistani official stationed at the Torkham crossing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa confirmed that around 5,000 containers remain stranded on both sides of the border. The official added that the local market is already facing shortages of tomatoes, apples and grapes. The commerce ministry did not issue a statement on the matter.
The border clashes were reportedly sparked by Islamabad’s demand that Kabul rein in militants allegedly launching cross-border attacks from Afghan territory — a claim the Taliban denies.
Although a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey last weekend has so far held, border trade remains suspended. Further talks between the two sides are expected to take place in Istanbul on October 25.
