According to requirements set out in the Crops Miraa Amendment Regulations, 2022, the importers of Miraa may have to wait a bit longer before shipping the product to Mogadishu.
Traders and farmers have welcomed the reopening of the Somalia market with joy, but they also called on the government to fast-track the issuance of export licences as per the regulations.
Kenya and Somalia revived bilateral relations on Friday evening after President Hassan Mahmud met President Uhuru Kenyatta and agreed that trade and flights between the two countries resume with immediate effect.
For the first time, miraa dealers will have to adhere to the Kenya Bureau and Standards Code of Practice and the miraa regulations.
Nyambene Miraa Trade Association Nyamita chairman Kimathi Munjuri said the Agricultural and Food Authority AFA was yet to clear about 500 exporters, despite the fact that they were all set for business.
Exporters must be registered and licensed by AFA, according to The Crops Miraa Amendment Regulations 2022. Exporters are required to get an export permit for every consignment. Anyone who exports miraa without registration and a license is liable for a fine of up to three years or a sentence of up to 5 million dollars or a fine of up to three years.
We have over 500 exporters who have applied for the export licenses, but AFA has yet to issue them. "We need them urgently because we can't ship without adhering to the regulations," Munjuri said.
Agriculture CS Peter Munya looked at the amended regulations last month that scrapped an export and import levy of Sh 30 and 60 per kilo.
The regulations also provide for registration and licensing of miraa nursery operators, growers associations, aggregation, transporters, importers, and vendors.
It also regulates the quality of planting materials, production, postharvest handling and transportation.
Transporters are required to use well-ventilated and hygienic vehicles in adherence to food safety standards.
The rules also establish a Miraa pricing formula committee, which is tasked with coming up with a pricing method based on supply and demand, cost of production and other factors.
The regulations allow for the enforcement of the miraa code of practice, especially in regulating how miraa is weighted. The measure of miraa has been used to impoverish farmers. Rogue traders who have been receiving money from exporters and failing to deliver will be tamed, he said.
Any person licensed to operate as an aggregation must have a field holding facility with potable water, waste disposal area and provide workers with personal protective equipment.
A dealer is required to implement a traceability system where the package contains the country code, county code, farm name and location.
Exporters will be waiting for the Somalia Civil Aviation Authority SCAA to issue a NOTAM opening of the airspace to Kenyan flights.
The talks with government authorities have been ongoing, according to Maua Miraa Traders chairman Mohamed Quresh.
We are yet to get the licences, but we will have to work with those who get theirs first so there are no delays in doing business, Quresh said.
Kenyan miraa farmers and traders have been out of the Somalia market for the last two years after Mogadishu suspended khat imports in March 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 epidemic.