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The war with Iran has created a crisis for one of the world's largest tea exporters. The disruption of shipping routes has stranded nearly 9,000 tons of Kenya's top export in Mombasa warehouses, driving millions of dollars in losses and threatening the livelihoods of farmers. Michael Kaloki reports from Nairobi.
MICHAEL KALOKI: Trucks carrying tea are a common sight on the roads of Kiambu County, one of the main tea-growing regions in Kenya. AEN Kenya is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the county. Maureen Njoki is one of the organization's co-founders.
MAUREEN NJOKI: Here in Kiambu County, many people have grown up having tea farming as their major source of income. So they basically depend on it for food, education, medical care.
KALOKI: The Middle East is a key market for Kenya's tea exports, but the ongoing war in Iran has brought shipments to a halt, according to the East Africa Tea Traders Association. The disruption has left millions of pounds of tea stranded at the port of Mombasa, a situation that has Ms. Njoki worried.
NJOKI: A majority of the farmers that we work with at my organization are actually concerned about tea because now that it is no longer getting exported, they are wondering, will they abandon tea? Where will they get their income from, and what is the way forward?
KALOKI: Back in the capital, Nairobi, economist Edward Kusewa points out that the financial impact in tea export disruptions has been widespread.
EDWARD KUSEWA: There's a big drop back in the incomes of farmers, and in the income of the country. The revenues that we anticipate from sales of tea has really gone down.
KALOKI: The impact isn't limited to tea. Well-known markets like the Kiamaiko goat market in Nairobi are suffering heavy losses as demand from buyers in the Middle East drops, according to economist Kusewa.
KUSEWA: There are a lot of exports from Kenya to the UAE, especially on livestock exports, and this has been greatly disrupted. Communities that depend on flowers for exports have been disrupted. This has truly affected our country in a very, very big way.
KALOKI: For now, Kenyans will likely be watching closely as a conflict on another continent continues to shape the realities here in East Africa.
For NPR News, and Michael Kaloki in Nairobi. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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