Kenyan meat exporters hit by Middle East conflict as Ramadan shipments slump

The war ​in the Middle East has reduced Kenyan meat exports to the region to below 5% ‌of the expected level during the peak Ramadan season as a sharp increase in air freight costs grounds shipments, industry officials told Reuters.

The Middle East is Kenya's main market for meat exports, with the United Arab Emirates traditionally accounting for 40% to ​60% of shipments, Nicholas Ngahu, chief executive of the Kenya Meat and Livestock Exporters Industry Council, said.

But ​exporters of fresh chilled meat such as beef, lamb, mutton and goat are currently ⁠only able to send limited volumes to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, while exports to markets such as Oman, ​Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan have also been disrupted.

"We are doing below 15% of our normal exports, and now ​that it's Ramadan, we are doing less than 5% of what we are supposed to be doing," Ngahu said.

Kenya typically sends around $2.3 million (Ksh.297.16 million) worth of meat and animal products to the Middle East every week.

Dennis Muraya, director of Konza ​Clearing Agency, said most airlines serving the region had cut operations, forcing exporters to rely on costly cargo ​charters into the UAE.

"We usually pay $1 to $1.50 per kilo," Muraya said. "But at the current moment, we're even paying up to $3 to $3.50 ‌per ⁠kilo."

He said airlines had attributed the surge in rates to higher insurance costs linked to the conflict.

Ngahu said the industry would normally ship around 200 metric tons of meat a day during the holy month, but volumes had fallen to roughly 5 to 15 tons a day.

Since Sunday, March 8, exports would have been expected to ​total a million kilograms, Ngahu ​said. "We have not done ⁠even 50,000."

One consignment of about 20 tons on its way to Sharjah had to be sent back on February 28 as airspace closed, saddling Konza with a $5,000 ​bill for handling, storage and cold-room charges, Muraya said.

Exporters say the impact is ​rippling through ⁠the supply chain, from freight forwarders and slaughterhouses to livestock traders and farmers.

With shipments delayed, slaughterhouses are unable to clear meat quickly enough to make room for new stock, while some exporters are forced to divert meat to the ⁠local ​market at lower prices. Ngahu said some abattoirs had cut casual ​labour by as much as 80%.

If the conflict drags on beyond Ramadan, Muraya warned demand could weaken further, making freight costs unsustainable.

"If this ​war continues, we won't be in business," he said.