Afghanistan: Weekly Market Report: Issue 312: Week 3 - September 2026

EXTRACTO DEL FEED · ATRIBUIDO AL MEDIO

Country: Afghanistan

Source: World Food Programme

Please refer to the attached file.

Key Highlights

Market Overview

Markets continued to show limited week-on-week volatility in the third week of September, although underlying price pressures remained evident. Rising fuel prices and higher import costs continued to increase transportation and supply-chain costs and exert upward pressure on market prices. Meanwhile, rice, wheat flour, cooking oil, sugar, salt and potato prices remained elevated compared with last year, while weak labour availability and subdued purchasing power continued to constrain household food access.

Food Categories:

Food markets recorded mixed but generally modest movements during the week. While several commodities experienced minor price adjustments, the year-on-year comparison highlights persistent increases in rice, wheat flour, cooking oil, sugar, salt and potato prices.

• Wheat and Wheat Flour: Wheat grain and flour prices recorded negligible weekly increases, however compared to last year, wheat grain, wheat flour (low-price and high-price) remained 15%, 13% and 8% higher, respectively.

• Rice: Rice prices edged down during the week, with Palawi declining by 0.5% and Sholae by 0.2%. Nevertheless, both varieties continued to register substantial annual increases of 21% and 35%, respectively, and both remained 21% above their three-year averages.

• Other Staples: Weekly price movements across cooking oil, sugar, pulses, salt and bread remained limited. Cooking oil and sugar continued to trade above last year's levels, by 13% and 8%, respectively, whereas pulses and bread remained 12% and 3% below their corresponding annual levels.

• Vegetables: Potato prices fell by 2.3% during the week, while onion prices rose by 3.2% and tomato prices increased marginally by 0.2%. Despite the weekly decline, potato remained 35% above last year and 27% above its three-year average. Tomato and onion prices were 30% and 5% lower year-on-year, respectively.

Non-Food Categories:

Terms of Trade (ToT): The ToT, which reflects purchasing power, remained constraint for both labour-dependent households and pastoralists, as declining income and higher prices limit their access to food.

• Casual Labour ToT: The nominal casual labour ToT declined slightly to 10.1 kg of low-price wheat flour, representing a 15% decline from last year and an 11% decline against the three-year average. The sustained decline in purchasing power reflects continued pressure on labour income relative to food prices.

• Labour Availability and Wages: Unskilled labour availability remained at 2.0 days per week, 15% below last year and 19% below the three-year average. Unskilled wages were 4% lower year-on-year, while skilled wages showed no annual change.

• Pastoralist ToT: A pastoralist could exchange a one-year-old female sheep for 262 kg of low-price wheat flour, which is 15% below last year and 7% below the three-year average. This indicates continued pressure on the purchasing power of livestock-dependent households.

• Fertilizers and Agricultural Inputs: DAP and urea prices recorded marginal weekly changes. Despite minor weekly fluctuations, annual prices remained elevated, with DAP 13% and urea 26% higher than last year. Meanwhile, improved seed and animal feed prices remained broadly stable due to low market demand and standing 7% and 6% below last year, respectively.