Kenya ships roughly 13 to 17 tonnes of miraa to Somalia daily, according to Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe, who shut down claims about 40-plus tonnes leaving the country by calling those numbers completely fake. The government synced up export tracking between the Agriculture and Food Authority, KenTrade, and Kenya Revenue Authority through one digital system that finally makes the data actually match up across agencies.
Around 110,000 farmers grow the crop on 360,940 acres, and it supports over 1.4 million people while generating 13 billion shillings annually from 32,000 metric tonnes of production. Most gets consumed locally, but Somalia takes the bulk of exports after European markets banned it for a decade until 2022.
Kagwe said stricter controls went into effect with mandatory airway bills, KEPHIS inspections, and monthly airline reports to eliminate sketchy record keeping. The ministry dumped 220 million shillings into miraa cooperatives while building irrigation infrastructure across Meru, Embu, and Tharaka Nithi counties, and officials keep hunting for new export routes through northern Kenya, plus direct cargo flights from Isiolo.
Around 110,000 farmers grow the crop on 360,940 acres, and it supports over 1.4 million people while generating 13 billion shillings annually from 32,000 metric tonnes of production. Most gets consumed locally, but Somalia takes the bulk of exports after European markets banned it for a decade until 2022.
Kagwe said stricter controls went into effect with mandatory airway bills, KEPHIS inspections, and monthly airline reports to eliminate sketchy record keeping. The ministry dumped 220 million shillings into miraa cooperatives while building irrigation infrastructure across Meru, Embu, and Tharaka Nithi counties, and officials keep hunting for new export routes through northern Kenya, plus direct cargo flights from Isiolo.
