Kenya Is Targeting To Export At Least 20 Tons Of Miraa To Djibouti Everyday

With a target of at least 20 tons per day, Kenya is hopeful that after the discussion with Djibouti’s Trade minister this month, she will be able to navigate Djibouti’s Miraa market that she has been eyeing for quite some time.

The amount of the stimulant that the country is projecting as exports to Djibouti is nearly half of what was being sold to the Somali market every day.

This projection comes after the Somalia government blocked and closed the access of the product to Mogadishu.

Djibouti’s Trade minister will lead a delegation into the country to discuss the khat (miraa) market. This will come as a boost to Kenya after the Djibouti officials who were expected in the country last year in August failed to show up.

Led by the Nyambene Miraa Traders Association (Nyamita) chairman Kimathi Munjuri, Farmers are now hopeful that 20 tons a day of export is enough to boost the revenue and reduce all the losses they’ve been incurring since the closure of the traditional Somali market three years ago.

“We are expecting this delegation in the next couple of days. Djibouti will be a key market for us given that they can take huge quantities of what we produce locally,” Mr. Munjuri.

According to Munjuri, Djibouti is the next big market for Kenyan miraa after the standoff between Kenya and Somalia escalated for long with traders failing to access the market for almost two years now.

He further noted that the Somalia market is no longer tenable and that Kenya has to scout for new markets elsewhere.

The political tension in Mogadishu between the President and the prime minister, coupled with this week’s ruling on Kenya-Somalia maritime border might also further complicate the access to that market.

Djibouti has been getting most of its khat supply from Ethiopia, but there is a huge deficit for the stimulant as Addis Ababa is unable to meet the country’s total demand.