276 tankers of low-quality fuel returned to Iran in 3 months

KABUL (Pajhwok): About 276 tankers carrying low-quality fuel were denied entry into Afghanistan and turned back to Iran during the past three months.

The Afghanistan National Standard Authority (ANSA) says if a trader imports low-quality fuel for a third time, his license will be added to black list.

ANSA has published reports about sending back fuel tankers carrying substandard fuel to Iran on its twitter handle.

Reports published in Pajhwok Afghan News during the past three months show that 276 tankers of low-quality fuel were denied entry into Afghanistan during the last three months.

About 160 tankers were sent back to Iran through Islam Qala port of Herat, 86 through Farah, 78 via Meel Bandar and 30 more through Nimroz.

Complaints about import of substandard fuel

Haji Najibullah, a fuel trader, said: “Some traders buy fuel at a cheap price in Iran. These traders say if the tankers cross the port, it is better and if seized, they will be sent back to Iran, this practice was common in the past, but now, Alhamdulillah, the import of low-quality fuel has been prevented.”

He said the import of low-quality fuel was harmful to the people and the economy of Afghanistan and should be prevented.

Nabiullah, a driver in Kabul, told Pajhwok some traders purchased low-quality fuel at a cheap price for competition and sold it at lower price than the market price.

“Low-quality fuel is cheap, but it harms the engine of the vehicle,” he added.

He said the government should not only prevent such fuel from entering the country but should also check the quality of fuel in pump stations.

Sayed Azim, another driver, said despite its prevention at borders, still some pump stations sold substandard fuel. “The prices of fuel vary from station to station.”

“Strong commitment to prevent low-quality fuel”

Ashoqullah Waziri, ANSA spokesman, said their department was committed to preventing the import of low-quality fuel to the country.

He said 276 tankers carrying low-quality fuel were sent back to Iran after laboratory tests.

He said: “No one is allowed to bring inferior quality fuel to the country. If someone does it thrice, his license is blacklisted and he is not allowed to import fuel in future.”

Without giving details, he said the licenses of some companies had been blacklisted.

Waziri said they had also discussed the matter with countries from which Afghanistan imported fuel and had asked them to import good quality goods to Afghanistan.

About the existence of low-quality fuel in the market, he said their teams were monitoring fuel stations in Kabul and provinces to identify the sellers of low-quality fuel.

He asked all businessmen to import high-quality goods to the country and export high-quality goods to other countries so that Afghan products could find a place in the world market.

sa/ma

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