Seven months after Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated an expansionist war in Ukraine, the economic consequences continue to be felt not only in Europe but also Africa.
For instance, the cost of exporting a 40-foot container of tea from Kenya to Europe in January was Sh357 000; today it costs Sh595, 000 more.
Following the closure of the Black Sea route, the cost of exporting goods has risen sharply since ships have to travel longer distances. Low demand for tea has led to decline in the prices with a kilo now selling at Sh267.
Before the Russia-Ukraine crisis, a kilo of tea at the Mombasa auction cost Sh303. Today, it costs about Sh270.
Data from the Tea Board of Kenya indicate that volume of tea export to Russia and Europe declined by 15 per cent between January and May.
The volume exported to Kazakhstan dropped by 40 per cent to 3.2 million kilograms from 5.5 million kilograms while the amount exported to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan dropped by 72 per cent and 39 per cent respectively between January and May.
Africa’s position on Russia’s aggression against Kyiv remains divided thanks to a number of factors, one of them being the different conditional roles that Russia and the West have played in the continent in the recent years.
“African countries’ collective hesitation to be drawn into Ukraine must be interpreted, in part, in light of this visceral awareness of the long-term harm that wars on the continent have produced… History reminds African countries to approach the conflict in Ukraine with caution and to treat claims of friendship with suspicion. For many Africans, the current overtures from both Russia and the West are not about friendship. They are about using Africa as a means to an end,” Kenyan writer and political analyst Nanjala Nyabola wrote in the Foreign Affairs this week.
Kenyan tea export destination has reduced from 51 in 2021 to 40 in 2022 between January and May as a result of the global recession occasioned by the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Data from the Tea Board of Kenya shows that earnings from Russia reduced by Sh598 million between January and May with a decrease of more than 1.7 million kilos in terms of the volume of the beverage exported.
