KENYA- Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary, Alfred Mutua, announced the agreement to export 40 -50 tonnes of sheep and meat to Iran, after holding a meeting with the Iranian Ambassador Dr Jafar Barmak on Wednesday.
Kenya is set to export 40-50 tonnes of sheep and meat with an estimated export value of 773.9 million (USD 6 million) per month. In addition, the agreement indicated that Kenya will also export 10000 tonnes of onions and tea to Iran.
“On trade, it was agreed that Kenya will export 40 to 50 tonnes of sheep and meat per day to Iran with an estimated export value of USD 6 Million per month. Further, we agreed on Kenya exporting 10, 000 tonnes of onions to Iran in addition to tea,” cabinet secretary, Alfred Mutua wrote
Dr Mutua added that the deal is expected to significantly boost the economy and create more opportunities for farmers and also for traders as he commended the Iran House of Innovation and Technology IHIT centre for assisting Kenyan startups.
“I lauded the Iran House of Innovation and Technology (IHIT) Centre initiative of helping Kenyan startups & promised to minimize the bureaucracy that led to the withdrawal of Ksh. 40M by Iran earmarked to support Kenyan universities in research & hope to get the funds recommitted’ he wrote
“This new trade deal will boost Kenya’s economy and create more opportunities for farmers and traders,” said Mutua
According to the ministry of agriculture and livestock, about two-thirds of the red meat is produced in the arid and semi-arid regions where the pastoralists keep approximately 70% of the country’s livestock, about 9.7 million beef cattle, 9.6 million goats, 8.3 million sheep and 800,000 camels.
However, Kenya has lost at least 2.6 million livestock following the prolonged drought within the last 5 months. This has caused the Kenyan meteorological department to give a warning of below normal in the arid and semi-arid land which might worsen the situation.
Therefore with the new deal in place, the pastoral communities who are affected excessively by the ongoing drought will acquire help.
“We welcome the efforts made by the government to help us find a market for our livestock in this great hour of need. We hope the opportunity will go a long way to help us sell our animals throughout the year all year round,” said John Eyaku, Marsabit nomadic farmer
