A trade boycott targeting miraa destined for North Eastern and Somalia has entered its fifth day as farmers and traders push for better farm-gate prices.
Igembe Miraa Farmers and Pluckers Welfare Association, which kicked off the campaign for better prices two weeks ago, announced the boycott on Friday and has warned farmers and traders against defying the no-trade advisory.
Somali journalist Abdi Guled, on Sunday reported that Mogadishu’s bustling khat market remained closed since Friday, with traders accusing the government of unfair policies that benefit a few importers.
The association chairman Japhet Mutuma, alias Rasta Karuiru, on Wednesday said they were demanding up to Sh1,500 per kilo for the farmer up from the current price of Sh300 per kilo.
Mr Mutuma said they want exporters to pay up to Sh200, 000 per bag of Griid (export variety) and Sh160, 000 for Allele (miraa variety destined for north eastern Kenya) as opposed to the current price of less than Sh150, 000.
“From our research, we have gathered that a kilo of Kenyan khat retails at up to Sh5, 700 in Mogadishu yet the farmer gets Sh300. We are only demanding that the exporters cede Sh1,000 more to the farmer. It is mind-blowing that the cost of transporting a kilo of miraa to Mogadishu is more than Sh3, 000,” Mr Karuiru said.
“Farmers and local traders who receive orders from exporters are in agreement to boycott the trade until they come on the table. We are ready to bear the pain of the boycott until our demands are met.”
He said measures had been put in place to ensure no farmer or trader defies the boycott by sneaking miraa into the market.
“Any farmer, trader or transporter who defies the boycott will face dire consequences. We will be confiscating any vehicle found to go against the agreement,” he said.
Mr Adamson Muriki, the welfare association patron, said among their demands is to ensure miraa is traded per kilo and the farmer paid instantly.
They have also recommended a minimum guaranteed price of Sh700 for a kilo of Griid 1, Griid 2 (Sh500 per kilo) and Allele (Sh500 per kilo) during the rainy season, when there is glut.
“We will have a committee that will engage with the exporters to agree on the prevailing prices every month during the dry season. If a new grade is introduced, we must agree on the farm-gate price,” Mr Muriki said.
Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) Miraa/Muguka Pricing Committee chairman James Mithika said they had met farmers and traders and come up with a proposed minimum price for miraa.
“The committee is aware and endorses the trade boycott because of unfair pricing. We will be meeting exporters this week though we have already engaged their agents in Maua. Besides the pricing, we are in agreement that the official trading unit shall be a kilo,” Mr Mithika said.
He said the committee will be proposing a price of Sh200, 000 per 100 kg bag of Griid 1, Sh150, 000 for Griid 2 and Allele (Sh150, 000).
He said the committee will also be making a recommendation against the practice of farmers bearing the losses from unsold khat.
“Once we are done with the stakeholders’ engagement, we will present the recommendations to the minister for policy directive. Going forward, miraa will be sold for a known price to be reviewed monthly,” the chairman said.
Farmers also want the Agriculture and Food Authority to give more export licenses to increase competition.
The clamour for higher miraa prices comes after the Nation exclusively reported about an illegal levy of USD4.5 per kilo collected by faceless cartel operating from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
In mid-January, Somali local media reported that local traders who are mostly women, held protests in Mogadishu over high taxation on Kenyan khat that was eating into their profits.
