Border closures between Pakistan and Afghanistan have pushed up prices of essential goods in both nations, with tomatoes now costing five times more in Pakistan since fighting broke out between the two South Asian neighbours this month.

Border crossings between the two countries have remained closed since October 11, following ground fighting and Pakistani airstrikes across their contested 2,600-km (1,600-mile) frontier that killed dozens on both sides in the worst fighting since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Kabul.

All trade and transit have been blocked since the fighting erupted, Khan Jan Alokozay, the head of the Pak-Afghan Chamber of Commerce in Kabul, told Reuters on Thursday.

“With each passing day, both sides are losing around $1 million,” he said.

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