Miraa Exports To Somalia Record Ksh1bn Hit Three Weeks After Resumption

In less than a month, Kenya has exported miraa worth Ksh1 billion to Somalia since the resumption of the trade which comes as a major reprieve to growers who had been hit hard when Somalia imposed a ban in 2019.

“We have so far exported 375,000 kilograms (375 tonnes) since we resumed exports in July,” said Felix Mutwiri, the Head of Miraa, Pyrethrum, and other Industrial Crops.

The directorate licensed nearly 48 traders for export of the stimulant under the new miraa laws. Anyone who exports the crop without registration and a license is liable to a sentence of up to three years or a fine of up to Ksh5 million under the new regulation.

After bilateral talks between Kenya and Somalia presidents which resolved a long-standing trade fall out, the directorate started issuing export licenses to miraa traders in July.

A kilogram of miraa in Somalia is now going for Ksh2,730 which is still considered lower compared to the Ksh2,987 that it fetched before the closing of the market. Facing competition for the Somalia market from Ethiopia which has been supplying miraa after Kenya was locked out.

Traders have been relying on the local market over the last three years after Somalia banned export of the stimulant following a diplomatic row between Kenya and Somalia.

Kimathi Munjuri, Nyambene Miraa Trade Association (Nyamita) Chairman, called the government to intervene for volumes of exported miraa to be increased from the current 19 tonnes a day.