Kenya’s meat export industry is facing unprecedented disruptions as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East block key trade routes, leaving over 200 tonnes of meat stranded in local facilities.

According to Waweru Kamau, Production Manager at Juja International Abattoirs, the situation has been exacerbated by the sudden suspension of shipping services, forcing exporters to halt operations temporarily even as oil prices surge.

“For all the facilities, we export up to between 125 and 130 tonnes every day. And all that goes to the Middle East. As we speak now, all the meat that was sorted on Friday is still lying in the chillers of our facilities. We are talking of over 200 tonnes that have not moved because slaughterhouses have decided to let staff stay home,” he said.

The Middle East has long been the largest market for Kenyan meat, with the United Arab Emirates accounting for about 60 per cent of exports. Other importers include Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait. However, trade disruptions have now created a bottleneck for both air and sea shipments.

Normally, most exported meat is chilled and sent by air, while frozen products travel via sea. Kamau noted that while they had considered shifting stranded meat to frozen storage for sea transport, shipping lines have also been affected.

“Yesterday, around 11, we received communication from Masterline CMA Shipping Line telling us that they have suspended their operations to Oman and the Middle East indefinitely,” he revealed.

“They say temporarily, but we don’t know when. That means over 200 tons of meat lying in our chillers could go to waste.”

The disruption comes amid an already complicated export volume. Kenya has faced bans on meat exports to certain countries in the past, such as Qatar, which has been closed since September 2021 due to foot and mouth disease outbreaks.

“It is more than just disease; it is geopolitics of the business. Our neighbours have been exporting to these markets until recently, when they were banned. Sudan used to be the biggest exporter because many veterinary doctors working there were from Sudan, Kamau explained.

“We have raised this matter with the relevant authorities and addressed it with the ministers responsible, but it has all been futile. They are unable to play the politics they are supposed to fix.”