According to the Kenya Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis), Kenya is currently experiencing a shortage of beans due to a trade agreement between Ethiopia and Pakistan that has seen Ethiopian exports shifting to the Asian country.
Kenya is a country that is deficient in beans and has relied on supplies from Ethiopia for quite some time. This is especially true for kidney beans.
However, since the agreement between Ethiopia and Pakistan that was signed in March of 2020 was implemented, the country has faced a shortage. Kephis confirms that the Moyale border has not seen any bean shipments in recent months.
Data from August 2019 shows that more than 8 million kgs of beans crossed the border monthly during that period. That number dropped to 1.4 million kgs in March of 2020 right after the agreement with Pakistan was finalised.
The decline of the exports from Ethiopia is compounded by the shortage of rain that Kenya is currently facing. The country has already sustained a 50 percent loss of its crops due to moisture stress. Yields are expected to drop by 20 percent at best.
The Kenyan Directorate of Horticulture also reports that there has been a decline in the provision of other crops from Ethiopia during the past few weeks, but attributes this to the national elections that were held last week.