Mogadishu (SOMALI MAGAZINE) Miraa (Khad) traders in Mogadishu have welcomed the recent agreement between Kenyan and Somali presidents to lift the ban on Miraa exports to Somalia.
During the last three years of the Kenyan Khad ban, the traders said they faced financial difficulties.
“I’m overjoyed that the Miraa ban has been lifted. Our lives have been altered as a result of the ban. We were about to request that the President lift the ban on Miraa, but the President did exactly what we wanted. During the ban, we were unable to pay our rent, electricity, or water. My life was good when I was trading Miraa. I was paying for my kids’ university and school fees “, one of the traders, Fardowsa Farah, told local media.
Following bilateral talks at State House in Nairobi on Friday, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta signed an eleven-point agreement.
One of the agreed points was that the Somalia Business Community’s fish products be allowed access to the Kenyan market, as well as the resumption of Khat (Miraa) trade between Kenya and Somalia.
Former Somali President Mohammed Farmaajo imposed a two-year ban on Miraa imports from Kenya, citing COVID-19 restrictions. Nonetheless, the suspension was never lifted because the countries’ relations were strained.
The ban resulted in the loss of more than 50 tonnes of Kenyan khat worth more than Sh20 million per day.