Ever been between a rock and a hard place? Well, that’s the position that Kenyan Miraa traders are in right now following the diplomatic row between Kenya and Somalia.
Somalia is Kenya’s leading Miraa market with about 50 tonnes of the produce sold there daily. This translates to around 100 million shillings daily.
Now with the ongoing diplomatic row, Miraa farmers could lose 90 per cent of the market.
On Saturday, it was reported that Kenya recalled its ambassador to Mogadishu and ordered Somalia envoy in Nairobi to leave after an alleged auction of oil and gas blocks in maritime territorial areas claimed by both countries.
Miraa traders in Kenya are however ready to lose the Somalia market, saying they cannot trade the country’s sovereignty for miraa sales.
In a statement yesterday, Nyambene Miraa Traders Association said Somalia was riding on miraa traders’ welfare to blackmail Kenya. “Miraa is the soft underbelly targeted by Somalia whenever it want to seek attention from Kenya. We should be bracing for the worst,” spokesman Kimathi Munjuri said.
The association said business had become difficult over the last two months after Puntland raised taxes while Mogadishu has opting for cheaper imports from Ethiopia. “As it is, we are exporting minimally to Puntland after President Said Abdullahi Deni piled on us a tax of Sh500 per kilogramme of miraa,” Munjuri said.