The Kenya-Somalia Diplomatic row has taken an ugly twist with the latest to be affected being Kenya Miraa Traders.
This comes after Somali Miraa traders in Mogadishu said that they will no longer be importing Miraa from Kenya.
Somali Miraa traders decision comes just a day after their Kenyan counterparts said that they are ready and willing to loose the Somali Miraa market in order to protect the Sovereignity of Kenya as a state.
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.
According to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Somalia remains Kenya’s key miraa market, taking in about 50 tonnes of the commodity daily.
The miraa sold to Somalia is valued at more than Sh100 million per day.